Two Colored women with the American Expeditionary Forces

I. and II. Col. Franklin A. Denison and Lt. Col. Otis B. Duncan,

the highest ranking colored officers in France. III. Col. Charles Young,

the highest ranking colored officer in the United States Army. IV.

Major Rufus M. Stokes. V. Major Joseph H. Ward.

Two Colored Women
With the American
Expeditionary Forces

By
ADDIE W. HUNTON

and

KATHRYN M. JOHNSON

Illustrated

BBOOKLYN EAGLE PRESS

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

SSOS06

Dedicated to the women of OUT
race, who gave so trustingly and
courageously the strongest of
their young manhood to suffer
and to die for the cause of
freedom.

With recognition and thanks to the authors quoted in
this volume and to the men of the A. E. F. who have
contributed so willingly and largely to the story herein
related.

Contents

f FOREWORD 5

fTHE CALL AND THE ANSWER 9

fFiRST DAYS IN FRANCE 15

*THE Y.M.C.A. AND OTHER WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS 22

*THE COMBATANT TROOPS 41

fNON-COMBATANT TROOPS 96

fPiONEER INFANTRIES 112

fOvER THE CANTEEN IN FRANCE 135

{THE LEAVE AREA 159

*RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE FRENCH 182

*EDUCATION 199

fTHE SALVATION OF Music OVERSEAS 217

*RELJGIOUS LIFE AMONG THE TROOPS 227

f REBURYING THE DEAD 233

fSTRAY DAYS 241

*AFTERTHOUGHT . 253

t By Addie W. Hunton.
* By Kathryn M. Johnson.

Foreword

T3EMARKABLE achievements are worthy of remarka-
AX ble acclaim. This justifies our desire to add still
another expression to those already written relative to
the career of the colored American soldiers in the late
World War. The heroic devotion and sacrifice of that
career have won appreciative expressions from those
who, from a personal point of view, know but little of
the details. How much more then should they who
walked side by side with those brave men in France
realize the merit of their service and chant their praises.
Surely they should be best able to interpret sincerely
and sympathetically, lovingly and gratefully for our sol-
diers, as they may not for themselves, something of the
vicissitudes through which they passed as members of
the American Expeditionary Forces.

We feel, too, that almost fifteen months of continuous
service that carried us practically over all parts of
France, and afforded a heart to heart touch with thou-
sands of men, is a guarantee of the knowledge and de-
votion that has inspired this volume.

Memories will ever crowd the mind and cause the eye
to kindle with the light of loving sympathy as we recall
our months of service at the base of supplies on the
coast of France. For there we were privileged to learn
something of the life and spirit of the stevedores, labor
battalions and engineers- more than 25,000 of them
who, through all the desolate days of war, never ceased
in their efforts to connect America with Chateau Thierry,
Verdun, Sedan, St. Mihiel and other great battle centers
of France. There we beheld combat troops, filled with
the spirit of adventure arriving fresh from America to
follow the trail to the already warworn front. And
there came also those regiments that we called Pioneer
Infantries, the imprints of whose deeds of duty and dar-
ing are stamped all over France.

We followed our depot companies and engineers
through those isolated stretches and wastes where they
performed tasks so essential in the plans for victory.

After many months we went away from the confusion
of war to beautiful southern France. There we worked
to make happy the days of the men who came for rest
and recreation to that wonderful Alpine region of Savoie.
There in the Leave Area, by the side of shimmering Lake
Bourget, we learned something more of the life of our
soldiers as they fought or worked on French soil. Every
week, for five months or more, a thousand or so men
poured into Chambery and Challes-les-Eaux, and we
saw in them the gladness or depression of their service.

Far to the North we took our way, over devastated
areas, and dwelt midst the loneliness of poppy-covered
fields in "No Man's Land." In those Cities of die Dead,
we beheld our soldiers summoned to the supreme test of
their loyalty and patience in the re-burying of the fallen
American heroes.

Back again to the coast we went to join in the great
"Battle of Brest" the battle for the morale of the tired,
anxious soldier waiting for transportation back to home
and native friendships. For six weeks, from early morn-
ing to midnight, our huts at Pontanezen echoed to the
tread of thousands of feet. During that period it is esti-
mated that fifty thousand colored soldiers passed through
the camp. Battle scenes and war adventures were ended,
but the memory was yet deeply poignant, and often
silences revealed the depths of experiences beyond the
power of all words. Because of all this, we strive to
numbly recount the heart throbs of our heroes.

Again the authors have written because to them it was
given to represent in France the womanhood of our race
in America those fine mothers, wives, sisters and friends
who so courageously gave the very flower of their young
manhood to face the ravages of war. That we then
should make an effort to interpret with womanly com-
prehension the loyalty and bravery of their men seems
not only a slight recompense for all they have given, but
an imperative duty.

We believe that undervaluation is a more subtle and
unkind foe than overvaluation, so that we have not re-
frained in our story from a large measure of praise for
a large measure of loyal and patriotic service, performed
ofttimes under the most trying conditions.

We have had no desire to attain to an authentic history,
but have rather aimed to record our impressions and
facts in a simple way. But wherever historical facts
have been used, it has been largely to justify the measure
of praise accorded and to offset the criticisms of preju-
diced minds.

This volume is written at a time when, after the shock
of terrific warfare, the world has not yet found its balance
when, in the midst of confusion, justice and truth call
loudly for the democracy for which we have paid.
/ If for all time the world is to be free from the murder-
ous scourge called war, it must make universal and
eternal the practical application of the time-worn theory
of the brotherhood of man. May this volume written in
all love and truth, though perhaps imperfectly, serve to
lift some souls nearer to this ideal.

THE POTENT HOUR

The hour is big with sooth and sign, with errant men
at war.

While blood of alien, friend and foe, imbues the land afar,

And we with sable faces pent, move with the vanguard
line,

Shod with a faith that springtime keeps and all the stars
opine.

GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON.

The Call and the Answer

THE great thrilling, throbbing spirit of war
did not reach the United States until that
memorable spring of 1918. Then it came in a
mighty tidal wave of vitalized force and energy.
Our country, woefully late, was at last awakened
to terrific speed. Great human cargoes and
innumerable tons of supplies held transports and
ships to their guards. Cities, towns and villages
were suddenly transformed into great inspirational
centers of war activity. Meanwhile we were watch-
ing the map of France, noting with deep anxiety
the stubborn resistance of the war-weary French to
the slow but certain advance of the enemy. Once
again it moved with pitiless and determined face
toward Paris the heart stream of all France.
Although General Joffre had once checked the
German raiders and sent them to confusion and
death, their lesson was not yet learned and they
were again throwing human force against the prin-
ciples of right. But now that so many of the
heroes of France had fallen, how would the foe
be met? Surely there was urgent need of a strong
army to stand at the Marne once again.

The American Forces already in France were
calling not only for help, but haste. Suddenly,
we found ourselves included in this call with pass-
port in hand. Not all at once did its full signifi-
cance come to us, but in those waiting days, as we
sat at our desk and tried to concentrate on

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

war-work at home, quite unconsciously, we would
find the passport in our hands and our eyes search-
ing the war map on the wall. Slowly we began to
realize that we were to make an effort to reach
"over there" where thousands of our own men had
gone and other thousands must go.

Then one dark afternoon, as the rain came down
in torrents, the buzz of the telephone at our elbow
told us our time had come. We asked no questions,
for those were days of deep secrecy, but looked for
the last time at the war map in the office studied
it as never before, wondering where in that war-
wrecked country across the Atlantic we would find
our place of service. We breathed a little prayer,
said good-bye to our fellow workers, knowing
that tomorrow we would be on the ocean eastward
bound and went out to meet her who was to try
the unknown with us and who would prove the
faithful companion of all our "overseas" life.
There was no sleep that night for us; friends came
and went, and two ever faithful ones lingered lov-
ingly for the last possible service.

Of necessity, in those days, there were strict laws
and many sentries at the docks, so that when
we entered there was little hope of rejoining our
loved ones for a second adieu. We took the pre-
caution, however, to beg them to wait for a final
sign of parting and while going through the
ordeal of having baggage examined and passed,
learned that our sailing time had been delayed four
hours. We determined upon an effort to rejoin
those waiting so patiently outside the dock. Making

10

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

a wide detour, we passed quietly by the sentry who
was striding to and fro with gun on his shoulder.
Now whether he could not quite grasp the fact that
colored women were really going to join the
American Expeditionary Forces, or had seen the
close clinging hug given one of the women by the
little lad and lassie near him or whether the
twinkle in our eye did it, we do not know but
we passed, and in that very act much of the sad-
ness of our parting was removed. We rode across
Fourteenth Street, a jolly party, had our lunch
and returned to the dock, where from an upper
pier with smiles and tears all mingled, we waved
a final adieu.

How wonderful is love at such a time! There
they stood lovingly and lingeringly the cousin of
one of us who had come all the way from the
Middle West for this leave-taking; two brave
children with the dear little woman whose true and
tried devotion made us know that she would mother
them as her own till we came back to take her
place; and that other friend with whom we had
crossed in peaceful days, joyously roaming over
England and the Continent. That last picture
remained with us, to cheer us for all the months of
our absence.

And now there was no turning back. Months
ago the war zone was just six hundred miles from
the coast of France but now the United States was
at war, and as we stepped on the gang plank, war-
zone passes were surrendered. We were crusaders

11

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

on a quest for Democracy! How and where would
that precious thing be found?

What a spectacle was that sun-lit bit of New York
harbor that June afternoon! All about us were
transports filled with khaki-clad men, crowding
port holes, every bit of deck and perched on every
beam. These thousands of youths of fearless and
deathless spirit, would quickly follow us over there,
and many of them, in war's thunderous tumult,
quickly pay the supreme sacrifice. How they
whistled, sang and cheered as our little French
liner, Espagne, steamed slowly away from them
to brave alone the sea peril of that time!

First to the south and then to the east we sailed
over seas of glass, with never a storm or gale, but
tremendous speed. They were cheerful days,
although they were ever-watchful ones, with life-
belts close at hand. No lights showed on deck at
night nor on the whole horizon. Yes, just once!
By the big blazing cross at the foremast, we saw
the form of a hospital ship, bringing its toll of
human wreckage to the waiting hands and hearts of
its native heath.

For all the trip there was no anxious face or
word that revealed the danger that so constantly
lurked near us. Even the frequent summons for
life-boat drills were answered with mirthful banter.
An unfailing, kindly courtesy, and, in many cases,
real comradeship marked the fellow-workers with
whom we crossed. Perhaps it was due to the quiet
but wonderful personality of the leader of this
group. Mr. William Sloane, Chairman of the

12

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. f.

War Council of the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion. The four hundred Polish recruits entertained
us with song, verse and dance; while usually we had
music and movies in the salon. Our Sunday after-
noon at sea, we sat in the dining salon with the sun's
rays stealing through the closed portholes and fall-
ing upon us in long, flickering, gold lines. Dr.
Henry S. Coffin talked to us in his forceful way of
heroes of old. Some one sang "Speed Away," and
then there was a triumphal outburst of "Eternal
Father Strong to Save!" The morning of the ninth
day we entered the Gironde River and steamed
slowly between vine-clad heights, overtopped by
stately chateaux; between flowering meadows, with
picturesque villas, up to Bordeaux. It was thus
we "Answered the Call."

13

That for which millions prayed and sighed,
That for which ten thousands fought,

For which so many freely died,
God cannot let it come to naught.

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON.

14

First Days in France

THERE are many American boys now who are
quite familiar with the Louvre, Boulevards,
Notre Dame and Napoleon's Tomb at Paris but
who know absolutely nothing of the Metropolitan
Museum, Fifth Avenue and its Cathedral, or Grant's
Tomb. The many ports of France were particu-
larly the home of the colored soldiers, so that
landing at Bordeaux it did not seem strange to be
greeted first of all by our own men. But it did
seem passing strange that we should see them
guarding German prisoners! Somehow we felt that
colored soldiers found it rather refreshing even
enjoyable for a change having come from a
country where it seemed everybody's business to
guard them.

Bordeaux was singularly the home of colored
soldiers. They were in the camps there by the
thousands. In fact, as we landed at Bordeaux,
it seemed every man's home. So crowded and
varied was its population, one could almost believe
that during the nine days of silence on the ocean,
Paris had been passed by the enemy. There were
many Colonial troops, Chinese laborers and, more
or less maimed French soldiers. The French gov-
ernment had been removed to that city in which the
blending of the finest in old and new architecture
made it a charming substitute for Paris. Sitting in
the park that evening, looking out upon the teeming
life about us, with crowds of black-robed women

2 15

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and helpless soldiers' filling in the picture, there
came to us. our first definite realization of the cost
of war.

Our first dinner in France, with butter and real
ice cream, was an unfortunate delusion, for it in
no way prepared us for all the lean days to follow.
Especially not for the war-breakfast the next morn-
ing a thick piece of dark bread, a hard-boiled
egg and a cup of black coffee all thrown at us
in unsweetened confusion; for while we waited for
sugar, we were informed that for the future we
must use a liquid substitute supplied us in bottles.

But Paris was our destination, and we rode all
day over that part of France so full of historical
memories past Tours with its Cathedral of Royal
Staircase and Towers; past Blois with its chateau
of historical pre-eminence; past Orleans, over
which the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc eternally hovers
on to Paris.

Rue d'Aguesseau! Who does not know it now!
That short, narrow street made famous by the
Young Men's Christian Association. For there
were the Headquarters of that organization for all
its vast service to the American Expeditionary
Forces. It was to 12 Rue d'Aguesseau that the
precious letters from home were sent. There, in
the crowded foyer, they were read and often
answered. There friends were met and conferences
held. How can any Y secretary who went
through it all ever forget the intricate processes of
"Movement Orders" and "Transportation" that
somehow carried one all over the building and

16

1. The Park at Bordeaux. 2. The Foyer at the Y. M. C. A. Head-
quarters, Paris.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

included several excursions from the first to the
fifth floor, with the perverse little elevator generally
out of order! Really it was far better named
ascenseur, for when on rare occasions it did re-
spond to the push of the button and take one up,
there was always the warning sign not to descend
in it.

It was always necessary to report to the Paris
Headquarters in changing one's base of service.
Hence, we have several distinct pictures of the city
as we saw it at different intervals during our fifteen
months in France. We remember Paris at Chris-
mas time, 1918, when President Wilson had but
recently arrived there; when the forces that had
for so long fought against cold and darkness were
triumphant at last. Warmth and light flooded the
very soul of the city. The American was the
dominating figure, but the French were riotously
happy, for peace had come a Victorious Peace!
We remember, too, the Paris of the late summer
of 1919, when after her great victory parade in
which all the victors participated except our own
colored soldiers she began to realize her real
condition. The foreigners had mostly gone and the
lights were less brilliant than in winter. It was a
quiet but wise Paris, bravely facing her tremendous
work of reconstruction. But the saddest picture
was our first. It was the summer of 1918, Paris
was again in the war zone. We entered a city of
darkness and our taxicab literally felt its way to
the hotel. Here and there dim green lights, heavily
hooded, peeped out at us, and we learned that

17

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

they were simply guides to caves for those unhappy
wayfarers caught beneath the enemy's shell. On
that June night, the great Gare d'Orsay was a
seething mass of aristocracy, peasantry and sol-
diers. The same was true of all other railroad
stations, for soldiers were forcing their way to the
front and refugees their way to the rear. But all
life seemed concentrated in those terminals; over
the city itself there was deep silence. Even the
days were heavy with dark forebodings. The
French went quietly to their business by day and
to their cellars by night, as the Germans menaced
and shattered with shell and bomb. The day of
the British and Belgian soldiers in Paris had almost
passed that of the American scarce begun. The
many French soldiers one saw there were, for the
most part, heartbreaking in their poor torn bodies.
We had just seen the children at Bordeaux who
used to play among the flowers and marble statues
of the parks and look from the windows now close-
shuttered. We looked in vain in the Louvre, Notre
Dame and other repositories for their priceless
treasures, but they were hidden, and ugly sandbags
hugged the architecture against the ruthless attacks
of the foe. True, the shop-keeper tried to extol
and press her wares upon us as of old, but, with the
above picture before us, bread tickets in our hands
and meatless days, we felt most keenly that it was
not the Paris in which, just ten years before, we had
lived so joyously for many weeks. It was a bleed-
ing, war-harassed city with its deadly foe pressing
upon it. But faith at Paris was not wholly dead;

18

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc still lived and Saint
Genevieve still kept faithful vigil through the long
dark hours of waiting. To such a Paris we went,
and somehow seemed a part of it. The warning
of the siren, air-battles by night and "Big Bertha"
bombs by day were accepted as a part of grim war.
Meanwhile we prepared for work in the camp.

Those last days in America and first days in
France brought us into close touch with the fine
spirits who guided the women's work for the War
Council of the Young Men's Christian Association.
In the United States, we had gathered inspiration
and vision for our service from the highly efficient
and spiritual chairman Mrs. F. Louis Slade.
Closely associated with Mrs. Slade was Mrs. Elsie
Meade, whose warm sympathy and steady hand
was such a comfort, first, to the out-going women
in America, and later in France with its ever-
changing camp life. There was Miss Crawford,
whose alert service and cheerful word in the office
at home and in France meant so much to the Y
woman who sought information. Our first assign-
ment in France was made by Mrs. Theodore Roose-
velt, Jr., and the second by Miss Ella Sachs, both
of whom gave to the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation a wealth of devoted service purely for
the love of their country. There was Miss Martha
McCook, who for so long stood so faithfully at
the head of the women's personnel abroad. Who
of the secretaries will ever forget Dr. Cockett?
Giving herself first to pioneer work in the camp, she

19

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

afterwards stood as a tower of strength and knowl-
edge to the newly-arrived secretary. Last but not
least came Mrs. W. L. Wright, with her under-
standing and appreciation of the colored unit in
France.

The colored women who served overseas had a
tremendous strain placed upon their Christian
ideals but the officials whom we have mentioned,
one and all, as did now and then a regional secre-
tary like Miss Susanne Ridgeway at St. Nazaire,
Miss Harris at Aix-les-Bains or the Misses Watson
and Shaw at Brest, helped them to keep their faith
in the democracy of real Christian service.

A whole volume of interest centers about those
two weeks in Paris. The conferences from which
we gathered facts and details that would find prac-
tical expression on the field; the meeting of old
friends and the making of new; the full realization
of the restrictions of the army and its penalties
for disobedience; the fortitude and fineness of the
French all this and more crowded upon us in
those days and wonderfully strengthened us for
our task. And then, one day, one of us faced
toward Brest and the other toward St. Nazaire to
love and serve our men at those ports.

20

All honor is due the faithful men and women of both
races at home, who by a great expenditure of time,
money and energy, made possible the operation of the
great plan of bringing comfort and relief to the soldiers
through the Welfare Organizations overseas. And while
there was disappointment in the hopes of many an
honest heart, in that there were prejudices and discrimina-
tions often shown to the colored race, and sometimes in-
justices to the soldiers of both races, still, the army
would have been a barren place had these institutions
not existed. The great good that was done gives much
hope for the possibilities of organized welfare effort in
the future.

21

The Y. M. C. A. and Other Welfare
Organizations

IT was our privilege to go overseas as welfare
worker under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A.,
and from the time we entered active duty until we
finished our work at Camp Pontanezen, we can
conscientiously say that we had the greatest oppor-
tunity for service that we have ever known; service
that was constructive, and prolific with wonderful
and satisfying results.

The contact with a hundred thousand men, many
of whom it was our privilege to help in a hundred
different ways; men who were groping and dis-
couraged; others who were crying loudly for help,
that they might acquire just the rudiments of an
education, and so establish connection with the
anxious hearts whom they had left behind ; and still
others who had a depth of understanding and a
breadth of vision that was at once a help and an
inspiration.

It was a wonderful spirit that prompted the
Y. M. C. A. to offer its vast facilities to this service ;
to cheer and encourage; to administer to the spir-
itual and physical needs; and to establish a con-
necting link between the soldier and the home; that
home which ever kept for him a beckoning candle
in the window, and a fire that was ever aglow.

And no less wonderful was the spirit of the Red
Cross, the Salvation Army, the Knights of Colum-

22

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

bus, the Jewish Welfare Board, and the Y. W. C. A.

For the privilege of serving in this capacity we
shall ever be grateful, and not only for the privi-
lege of service, but for the privilege of contact
with a wonderful and soulful people; for the privi-
lege of seeing their beautiful gardens, their fertile
fields, their snowcapped mountains and winding
rivers; for the privilege of gathering inspiration
from their wealth of architectural beauty, their
wonderful art galleries and cultural centers; and
for the privilege of serving in even the smallest
way to help in the preservation of the treasures of
this wonderful civilization, for the generations of
the future.

But to help to mar the beauty and joy of this
service was ever-present war, with its awful toll of
death and suffering; and then the service of the
colored welfare workers was more or less clouded
at all times with that biting and stinging thing
which is ever shadowing us in our own country,
and which marked our pathway through all our
joyous privilege of giving the best that was within
us of labor and devotion.

j Upon our arrival in Paris we met Mr. Matthew
Bullock and his staff of four secretaries, includ-
ing the first colored woman, who had been ordered
home as persona non grata to the army; this was
done on recommendation of army officials in Bor-
deaux, who had brought from our southland their
full measure of sectional prejudice.

This incident resulted in the detention of many
secretaries, both men and women, from sailing for

23

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

quite a period of time, and no more women came
for nearly ten months, thus leaving three colored
women to spread their influence as best they could
among 150,000 men.

An incident, in some respects similar, occurred
in connection with the work in the city of Brest.
During the days when it became the greatest em-
barkation port in France, at times there were as
many as forty thousand men of color, at Camp
Pontanezen, waiting for transportation home, and
up until about the 18th of June, 1919, there was
only one colored Y man there and no women.
This, too, at a time when Paris had as many as
forty colored men and women, who had returned
from their posts of duty, and were willing and
anxious for reassignment. This spectacle would no
doubt have continued until the close of the work,
had not the writers remained in Paris for a period
of ten days, requesting continuously that they be
permitted to go to Brest. They were finally ad-
mitted through the intercession of Mr. W. S. Wal-
lace, who had become the head of the personnel
department. When they arrived they were told by
the secretary at the head of the woman's work for
that region, that she had tried repeatedly to get
colored women, but for some reason the Paris office
had refused to send them. But the Paris office had
said each time, upon being questioned with regard
to the matter, that the office at Brest did not desire
colored women secretaries. This misunderstand-
ing came about, no doubt, when, one year previous,
the first colored woman sent there had been re-

24

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

turned to Paris. With the necessary tact and
investigation on the part of the proper authorities,
the matter could no doubt have been very easily
adjusted, when the original men in authority at
Brest had been replaced by others who were more
reasonable, and who had more sympathy for the
colored men; in that case we would not have been
confronted with the spectacle of numbers of colored
workers idle in Paris for a period of from four to
six weeks, just one night's ride from thousands of
colored soldiers, who were necessarily centered at
the great home-going port. Had they been there
they could have been of wonderful service, at a
time when waiting was a task that tried men's
souls.

Commendable things were accomplished, how-
ever, through the limited number of colored sec-
retaries, the sum total of whom finally became
seventy-eight men and nineteen, women, the rank
and file of whom were splendid, giving excellent
service in whatever portion of the A. E. F. to
which they happened to be assigned.

Among those who gave especially valiant service
were Mr. Matthew Bullock, of Boston, Mass., who
served with the 369th Infantry; Mr. H. 0. Cook, of
Kansas City, Mo., who served with the 371st; and
Mr. E. T. Banks, of Dayton, Ohio, who served with
the 368th. All of these men were cited for brav-
ery as a result of their services with the combatant
troops. Mr. Banks went over the top with his
men in the Vienne, La Chateau sector, of the
Argonne Forest. Mr. Cook gave gallant service

25

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

in the Champagne offensive, working tirelessly until
he was gassed; while Mr. Bullock could be seen at
all times making his way under tremendous shell
fire that he might reach his men with necessary
supplies; all of these men won high praise for
their services in giving first aid to the wounded.

While there is very little exception to the rule
that the colored soldiers were generally and won-
derfully helped by the colored secretaries, and
while the official heads of the Y. M. C. A. at Paris
were in every way considerate and courteous to its
colored constituency, still there is no doubt that
the attitude of many of the white secretaries in
the field was to be deplored. They came from all
parts of the United States, North, South, East and
West, and brought their native prejudices with them.
Our soldiers often told us of signs on Y. M. C. A.
huts which read, "No Negroes Allowed" ; and some-
times other signs would designate the hours when
colored men could be served; we remember seeing
such instructions written in crayon on a bulletin
board at one of the huts at Camp I, St. Nazaire;
signs prohibiting the entrance of colored men were
frequently seen during the beginning of the work
in that section; but always, when the matter was
brought to the attention of Mr. W. S. Wallace, the
regional secretary, he would immediately see that
they were removed.

Sometimes, even, when there were no such signs,
services to colored soldiers would be refused. One
such soldier came to the Leave Area, and one day,

26

GROUP OF Y.M.C.A. WORKERS, INCLUDING THE THREE
SECRETARIES WHO WERE CITED FOR BRAVERY

1. Miss Turner. 2. Mr. Matthew Bullock. 3. Mrs. Craigwell. 4.
Misses Edwards and Rochon, and Mr. Owens. 5. Misses Phelps and
Suarez. 6. Mr. H. O. Cook. 7. Miss Hagan. 8. Mr. E. T. Banks.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

while on a hike to Hannibal's Pass, he confided to
the writer that he was beginning to see the Y. M.
C. A. from a different view-point, since he had
been where there were colored secretaries. That
at one time, up at the front, he had been marching
for two days, was muddy to the waist, cold and
starving, because he had had nothing to eat during
the entire journey. He came across a Y. M. C. A.
hut, went in, and asked them to sell him a package
of cakes. They refused to sell it to him under the
plea that they did not serve Negroes.

The writer remembers an appeal that came to
her one Sunday morning while at St. Nazaire. A
Sergeant in the Medical Corps desired her to use
her influence to help to get him out of the guard
house. On investigation she learned that he had
been placed there for doing violence to a Y. M.
C. A. secretary. This secretary served in a hut
just two blocks from the one in which the writer
served. It happened to be immediately across the
street from the dispensary, where the sergeant was
on duty. Instead of coming to the colored hut, he
went across the street to the one nearer. The sec-
retary, with much indignation, told him that he
did not serve Negroes. The sergeant went back to
the dispensary, feeling outraged. The next day
this same Y. M. C. A. secretary went into the dis-
pensary and asked for some medicine. The ser-
geant told him he must wait until those ahead of
him were served; but the secretary persisted that
he was in a hurry, and must be served at once;

27

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

whereupon the sergeant, still smarting under the
insult of the day before, unceremoniously ejected
him from the building.

One secretary had a colored band come to his
hut to entertain his men. Several colored soldiers
followed the band into the hut. The secretary got
up and announced that no colored men would be
admitted. The leader of the band, a white man,
by the way, immediately informed his men that
they need not play; whereupon all departed and
there was no entertainment. Some huts would per-
mit colored men to come in and purchase supplies
at the canteen, but would not let them sit down and
write, while others received them without any dis-
crimination whatever.

Quite a deal of unpleasantness was experienced
on the boats coming home. One secretary in charge
of a party sailing from Bordeaux, attempted to
put all the colored men in the steerage. They
rebelled and left the ship ; whereupon arrangements
were made to give them the same accommodations
as the others.

On another boat there were nineteen colored
welfare workers; all the women were placed on a
floor below the white women, and the entire colored
party was placed in an obscure, poorly ventilated
section of the dining-room, entirely separated from
the other workers by a long table of Dutch civil-
ians. The writer immediately protested; the reply
was made that southern white workers on board
the ship would be insulted if the colored workers

28

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

ate in the same section of the dining-room with
them, and, at any rate, the colored people need
not expect any such treatment as had been given
them by the French.

But Y. M. C. A. secretaries were not always
responsible for discriminations that occurred in the
Y. M. C. A. huts. In some places, commanding
officers would order signs put up. On another page
is a picture of a hut located at Camp Guthrie, near
St. Nazaire. The small sign just on the right of the
picture says, "Colored Soldiers Only." The hut
secretary here was a colored man, the Rev. T. A.
Griffith, formerly of Des Moines, Iowa, and Topeka,
Kan. To this hut came many white soldiers to
listen to his sermons, and to get into the ice cream
line at the canteen. At the same time many of
the colored soldiers went to the other hut, where
there was a white secretary, to be served in the ice
cream line. In time these boys were told that they
must get out of the line and be served at their own
hut. Simultaneously Rev. Griffith was told to keep
the white men out of his line, and let them be
served where there were white secretaries. Rev.
Griffith did not do this, but left the order to be
enforced by the colonel who had made it. When
the colonel saw that his order was not being recog-
nized at the colored hut, he had the sign put up as
shown in the picture. Rev. Griffith made a num-
ber of efforts to get the sign removed, but to no
avail.

The following is a copy of an order issued in
another section:

29

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

HEADQUARTERS CONCENTRATION CAMP
S. 0. S. TROOPS REMACOURT

Memorandum
Y. M. C. A.

There are two Y. M. C. A.'s, one near the camp, for
white troops, and one in town, for the colored troops.
All men will be instructed to patronize their own Y.
By order of COL. DOANE.

JOHN A. SCHWEITZER, 1st Lt. Inf.,
May, 1919. Adjutant.

But there were splendid men among both secre-
taries and army officials, who honestly and actively
opposed discrimination. Mention already has been
made of our personal knowledge of Mr. W. S.
Wallace at St. Nazaire, who was always on the
alert to see that the colored soldiers had a square
deal; while at Brest we found an equally fine
spirit in the person of Major Roberts, the army wel-
fare officer.

While welfare organizations other than the
Y. M. C. A. did not employ colored workers, still,
we had the opportunity of observing the attitude
they assumed toward the colored troops. It was a
part of the multiplicity of the duties of colored
Y women to visit the hospitals; here they found
colored soldiers placed indiscriminately in wards
with white soldiers, while officers were accorded the
same treatment as were their white comrades.
However, we learned that in some places, colored
officers would be placed in wards with private sol-
diers, instead of being given private rooms, as was

30

HUTS SHOWING SCARCITY OF COLORED SECRETARIES AND
SOME DISCRIMINATIONS PRACTICED

1. Hut 5, Camp Lusitania, St. Nazaire. The largest Y. M. C. A. hut in

France, with full staff of three secretaries.

From left to right J. C. Croom, Kathryn M. Johnson, F. O.

Nichols, traveling Lecturer on Civics, said Walter Price.

2. Last Y. M. C. A. hut built in France, showing sign in upper right

corner, reading, "Colored Soldiers Only."

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

their military right; and one soldier tells how,
after being twice wounded in the Argonne drive,
he was taken to Base Hospital No. 56; here he, and
others, waited three days before they could secure
the attention of either a doctor or a nurse; but
when these attendants finally came, the colored
soldiers were taken from the hospital beds and
placed on cots which were shoved into one end of
the room where there was no heat; they then re-
ceived medical attention, always after the others
had been well attended, and were given the food
that remained after the others had been served.

There was one notable incident of discrimina-
tion on the part of the Knights of Columbus. It
occurred at Camp Romagne, where there were
about 9,000 colored soldiers engaged in the heart-
breaking task of reburying the dead. The white
soldiers here were acting as clerks, and doing the
less arduous tasks. The Knights of Columbus
erected a tent here and placed thereon a sign to
keep colored soldiers away. The colored soldiers,
heartsore because they, of all the soldiers, Ger-
man prisoners, etc., that there were in France,
should alone be forced to do this terrible task of
moving the dead from where they had been tem-
porarily buried to a permanent resting place, im-
mediately resented the outrage and razed the tent
to the ground. The officers became frightened lest
there should be mutiny, mounted a machine gun
to keep order, and commanded the four colored
women who were doing service there to proceed at
once to Paris.

3 31

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

As a rule, only words of praise were heard for
the Salvation Army, whose field of service was
very small but very excellent.

The Y. W. C. A. was another welfare organiza-
tion with overseas workers; their field of service
was among the women welfare workers of other
organizations, and the French war brides who
were waiting to come to America with their
American soldier husbands. No colored repre-
sentative of this organization was sent over, as the
number of colored women was so small that she
would have had no field in which to operate. Few,
if any, of the white Y. W. C. A. workers gave any
attention to this little colored group, notwithstand-
ing the fact that they were women, and Americans,
just like the others. One, however, remembers a
greeting of much insulting superiority and snob-
bishness, by one of its representatives whom she met
on the street. After that she always felt it neces-
sary to keep in places where they were not to be
seen. Of course, all of them were not of this type,
but there was no way of being sure of those who
were not. As an organization there is no doubt
that much good was accomplished by them, espe-
cially in furnishing reasonable and comfortable
hotel accommodations for women welfare workers
in Paris, and also in caring for the wives of sol-
diers who were waiting to come home, in the
crowded seaport cities.

The largest Y. M. C. A. hut in France was one
built at Camp Lusitania, St. Nazaire, for the use
of colored soldiers. It was the first hut built for

32

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

our boys, and for its longest period of service was
under the supervision of Rev. D. Leroy Ferguson,
of Louisville, Ky. It reached its highest state of
efficiency and cleanliness under Mr. J. C. Groom, of
Goldsboro, N. C. It did service for 9,000 men, and
had, in addition to the dry canteen, a library of
1,500 volumes, a money-order department which
sometimes sent out as much as $2,000 a day to
the home folks; a school room where 1,100 illiter-
ates were taught to read and write; a large lobby
for writing letters and playing games ; and towards
the close of the work, a wet canteen, which served
hot chocolate, lemonade and cakes to the soldiers.

To this hut one of us was assigned, and served
there for nearly nine months. The work was
pleasant and profitable to all concerned, and no
woman could have received better treatment any-
where than was received at the hands of these 9,000
who helped to fight the battle of St. Nazaire by
unloading the great ships that came into the harbor.
Among the duties found there were to assist
in religious work; to equip a library with books,
chairs, tables, decorations, etc., and establish a
system of lending books; to write letters for the
soldiers; to report allotments that had not been
paid; to establish a money order system; to search
for lost relatives at home; to do shopping for the
boys whose time was too limited to do it them-
selves; to teach illiterates to read and write; to
spend a social hour with those who wanted to tell
her their stories of joy or sorrow.

All of this kept one woman so busy that she

33

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

found no time to think of anything else, not even
to take the ten days' vacation which was allowed her
every four months. In a hut of similar size among
white soldiers, there would have been at least six
women, and perhaps eight men. Here the only
woman had from two to five male associates.
Colored workers everywhere were so limited that
one person found it necessary to do the work of
three or four.

Just on the suburbs of St. Nazaire, about two
miles from Camp Lusitania, was another hut, the
second oldest for colored men in France. Here
the other one of the writers spent six months of
thrilling, all-absorbing service; while about six
miles out, in the little town of Montoir, where
thousands of labor troops and engineers had per-
manent headquarters, the third of the colored
women to come to this section ran a large canteen,
supplying chocolate, doughnuts, pie and some-
times ice cream to the grateful soldiers. This hut
was far too small for the number of soldiers it
had to entertain, but it was made large in its hospi-
tality by the genial, good-natured, energetic Mr.
William Stevenson, its first hut secretary, now
Y. M. C. A. secretary, Washington, D. C. He
started the work in a tent, and built it up to a veri-
table thriving beehive of activity.

There were several other localities in the neigh-
borhood of St. Nazaire, where one colored secre-
tary would be utilized to reach an isolated set.
They usually worked in tents. Other places where
Y. M. C. A. buildings, huts or tents for colored

34

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

soldiers were located, were Bordeaux, Brest, Le
Mans, Challes-les-Eaux, Chambery, Marseilles,
Joinville, Belleau Wood, Fere-en-Tardenois, Orly,
Is-sur-Tille, Remacourt, Chaumont, and Camp
Romagne near Verdun.

Rolling canteens ran out from some places,
reaching points where the soldiers had no Y. M.
C. A. conveniences. This was a small automobile
truck, equipped with material for serving chocolate
and doughnuts, and operated by a chauffeur, and
a Y woman who dispensed smiles and sunshine to
the ofttimes homesick boys, along with whatever
she had to tempt their appetites.

The last, and perhaps the most difficult piece of
constructive work done by the colored workers, was
at Camp Pontanezen, Brest. It has been told in
another chapter how one of the writers received
Brest as her first appointment, and how she was
immediately informed upon her arrival that be-
cause of the roughness of the colored men, she
would not be allowed to serve them. That woman
went away with the determination to return to
Brest, and serve the colored men there, if there
was any way to make an opening; so after finish-
ing her work in the Leave Area, she and her co-
worker, who had been relieved from duty at Camp
Romagne, were finally permitted to go there, as
has been previously explained.

Upon their arrival, they were told that they would
be assigned to Camp President Lincoln, where there
were about 12,000 S. 0. S. troops. Here there
were several secretaries and chaplains, and the

35

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

need was greater at Camp Pontanezen, where there
were 40,000 men, and only one colored secretary.
The writers requested that they be located there.
The appointment was held up for one day, and
finally they became located at Soldiers' Rest Hut,
in the desired camp.

They were told that they must retain a room in
the city, as the woman's dormitory at Camp Pon-
tanezen was filled to its capacity. But they con-
tended that to do so would take them away from
the soldiers at a time in the evening when they
could be of the greatest service. Finally, it was
arranged for them to stay in the hut, much to the
dissatisfaction of the white secretary in charge.

The next morning before they left their room,
a message was received, telling them that trans-
portation would be at the door at any moment they
desired, to take them back to Brest; that Major
Roberts, the Camp Welfare Officer, had said that
they must not stay in the hut. Upon investigation
by Mr. B. F. Lee, Jr., the lone colored secretary
at this tremendous camp, it was learned that Major
Roberts had been told that the women were uncom-
fortable, and did not wish to stay.

Mr. Lee explained that such was not true. The
Welfare Officer then visited the hut, talked with the
women, recognized the situation, gave his consent
to their staying, and assured them that he was
willing and ready to do anything in his power to
make them comfortable, and assist in equipping
the hut. The white secretary, seeing that the
women were going to stay, acquiesced in the situa-

36

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

tion, instead of moving out, and did everything he
could to assist.

After this there was no difficulty experienced at
Camp Pontanezen. The camp secretary and his
staff put every means at our disposal to assist us
in the work, while the head of the women's work
was at all times helpful and sympathetic. From
the time she received us at Brest, until our depart-
ure, she showed us every consideration and cour-
tesy due Y. M. C. A. secretaries.

During the nearly seven weeks there, the chief
of the women's work for France paid the city a
visit, in order that she might, among other things,
visit the colored work.

The two women remained in the same hut about
two weeks, when Major Roberts gave one of the
most beautiful huts in the camp to the colored
soldiers. It had been occupied by the 106th
Engineers, and had been built for their own private
use. It contained a beautiful stage; a large audi-
torium, seating 1,100 people, with a balcony and
boxes for officers. It also had a beautiful library
and reading room, as well as a wet canteen. To
this hut came Mr. B. F. Lee, Jr., and one of the
women, while the other remained at Soldiers' Rest
Hut, and became its hut secretary. To join them
came two other women from Paris, one of whom
was placed in each hut, making the total number
of women secretaries, four.

The new hut was quickly gotten in order, sleeping
quarters being arranged, a new library built, and

37

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

a game room made by removing partitions from
under the balcony.

There were several other large huts at Camp
Pontanezen, that were used for long periods ex-
clusively by colored soldiers; but in the absence
of colored women, white women, sometimes as
many as five in a hut, gave a service that was
necessarily perfunctory, because their prejudices
would not permit them to spend a social hour with
a homesick colored boy, or even to sew on a ser-
vice stripe, were they asked to do so. But the
very fact that they were there showed a change in
the policy from a year previous, when a colored
woman even was not permitted to serve them.

In nearly all the Y. M. C. A. huts, in every sec-
tion of France, moving pictures would be operated
every afternoon and evening. Many times before
the movies, some kind of an entertainment would
be furnished by the entertainment department of
the Y. M. C. A. There were shows furnished by
French or American dramatists; concert parties by
singers and musicians of all nationalities, and fre-
quently a lecture on health and morals. The
movies and shows were the most popular forms of
entertainment, and on these occasions the huts
would always be crowded, as all entertainments
given by the Y. M. C. A. were free.

The organization also did much to promote clean
morals among the men, by the free distribution of
booklets, tracts, and wholesome pictures. This
literature would be placed in literature cases, and
the men would select their own material, while the

38

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

pictures would be placed in parts of the hut where
they would be easily visible. Some of the booklets
which were unusually popular among the men were
"Nurse and Knight," "Out of the Fog," "When a
Man's Alone," "The Spirit of a Soldier," and
"A Square Deal"; while quantities of other stories
with sharply drawn morals were distributed by the
thousands and thousands of copies.

All told, the Y. M. C. A., with a tremendous
army of workers, many of whom were untrained,
did a colossal piece of welfare work overseas. The
last hut for the colored Americans in France was
closed at Camp Pontanezen, Brest, on August 3,
1919, by one of the writers; the two of them hav-
ing given the longest period of active service of
any of the colored women who went overseas.

39

"These men are high of soul, as they face their fate
on the shell-shattered earth, or in the skies above, or in
the waters beneath; and no less high of soul are the
women with torn hearts and shining eyes; the girls whose
boy lovers have been struck down in their golden morn-
ing, and the mothers and wives to whom word has been
brought that henceforth they must walk in the shadow."

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, in "The Great Adventure"*

* By permission of Charles Scribner's Sons.
40

The Combatant Troops

IT was our greatest hope, when we left that great
city of the Middle West, in May, 1918, that
we might have the privilege of serving those sol-
diers whom we had seen march proudly away
about six months before, and entrain for the city
of the South, there to prepare to take their part on
the great western front, in the world's greatest
war. It was at once a joyous and heart-aching
privilege to follow them from the spacious 8th
Regiment Armory, through the penetrating breeze
from Lake Michigan, in order that we might see
them bid a last adieu to those who loved them
most; the mothers, wives, and sweethearts who
clung to the car windows and steps for a last tear-
ful embrace, as the train prepared to move slowly
away, bearing its burden of human freight, some
of whom were not to return, but were to remain
resting in those fields whose blood-red poppies
seemed death's perfect emblem of crimson beauty.
But failing to have the privilege of serving them,
we desired in all earnestness of heart to serve
whatever other colored regiments were marshaled
in battle array against the foe; those who were
facing the shot and shell; the poison gas and
liquid flame; the bombs from above and the mines
from beneath; who were struggling through barbed
wire entanglements, and sleeping in trenches and
dugouts; who were suffering in all possible ways
from the wicked ingenuity of the Germans; who

41

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

went for days without food and drink; and who
offered themselves as a supreme sacrifice to help
to make the world safe for democracy.

To these troops we owe much for our splendid
record in the World War. They summoned with
superhuman strength the courage to overcome the
galling and heart-breaking discriminations which
they had known before they crossed the seas; the
open and public discussion as to whether colored
men should be allowed to fight; the tragedy of
Houston, and the resulting discouragement at Des
Moines; 1 the impudence of the commanding officer
at Camp Funston, and the pre-arranged and in-
famous plan to discredit colored officers on the
battlefields; all this was sufficient to sap their very
life blood before it had a chance to crimson the
soil of Flanders Fields; and it was to these troops
that we felt we owed all that could be given of
service and devotion.

But we were not permitted to do this ser-
vice for which we longed so much, and conse-
quently our chapter on Combatant Troops must be
a record of facts which we have gathered from
officers and men of the different organizations who
have so kindly and willingly come to our assist-
ance. True, it is a brief record; the full record
must be left to those who write the histories; but
we hope it is quite sufficient to establish for all
time the fact that these troops lived up to the full
measure of their opportunity; that whether under
white or colored leadership, they fought bravely
and with undaunted courage; that their spirit of

42

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

patience and long suffering enabled them to over-
come even the battle of prejudice, which had fol-
lowed them even into that war-torn country, and
which at times was more ominous and terrible than
any war- weary conflict; and finally that they won
for themselves a crown whose glory and beauty
will increase with the passing of the years.

COLORED OFFICERS AND THE 92ND DIVISION

The American colored men had very small
opportunity to get training that would fit them
for officers before going overseas; there was only
one graduate of West Point available, Col. Charles
Young, of Wilberforce, Ohio; unfortunately the
army found him physically unfit, and retired him
from active service just one day before a long list
of brigadier generals was made, among whom he
was sixth in line for promotion. He was finally
called back into active service, and since the war
has ended has been sent to Africa. A white
colonel remarked in his introduction of Colonel
Young to a large meeting held at St. Mark's M. E.
Church, 53rd Street, New York City, in December,
1919, and in the hearing of the writer, that it was
very plain that the only reason why this dark-
skinned military officer had been retired, was that
the army did not want a black general.

For a number of years preceding our entrance
into the war, no colored students had been admitted
to West Point, and graduation was ever refused

43

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

them at the Annapolis Naval Academy. One
colored school, however Wilberforce University
had maintained for a number of years a de-
partment of military tactics supported by the gov-
ernment. Here Colonel Young, and other regular
army officers had been kept from time to time as
instructors. During the war 65 men, graduates
and undergraduates of the school, received com-
missions as officers.

The small number who had received limited
training here, however, was quite inadequate to be
of much service among any considerable number
of troops ; and the problem of how to train colored
officers became quite a vexation; the camps that
gave six weeks' training to white men did not wish
to admit them, and there were many who argued
that colored men should not be allowed to become
soldiers, and that therefore there would be no
need for colored officers. Southern congressmen
were particularly alarmed over any prospects of
colored men learning to use guns.

After some weeks of agitation, however, the war
department decided to establish a training camp at
Des Moines, Iowa, where about 1,100 men entered
for the three months' course. Over six hundred
received commissions as 2nd Lieutenants, 1st Lieu-
tenants, or Captains. There seemed to be a rule
that no colored man in training should receive a
commission higher than that of captain. Most of
these men were college graduates, and on the whole
were of a very high type.

44

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

They were assigned to the 92nd Division, and to
any other units where colored officers were allowed
to serve, and were needed; but the record of the
92nd Division shows more than that of any other
organization the ability of the officers of the Des
Moines Training School.

The 92nd Division was composed of the 365th
and 366th Infantries, and the 350th Machine Gun
Battalion, which made up the 183rd Infantry
Brigade, commanded by General Barnum; and
the 367th and 368th Infantries, together with the
351st Machine Gun Battalion, which made up the
184th Infantry Brigade, commanded by General
Hay. These two Brigades, commanded by colored
officers as high as the rank of captain, together with
the 167th Artillery Brigade, commanded with few
exceptions, by white officers, made up the 92nd
Division, which was under the command of Major
General Ballou.

Major General Ballou had had charge of the
Training School at Des Moines, at which time his
rank was that of colonel. Through the influence of
friends, some colored men included, he was pro-
moted, and given charge of this large body of
colored troops ; but before he left for France, even,
he caused an order to be issued, known as Bulletin
No. 35, which must have operated in no small
degree to destroy his influence with his men, and
cause a humiliation of spirit among them which
would take away whatever desire they might have
had to lay down their lives that Democracy might
live. The following is the text of the Bulletin:

45

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

HEADQUARTERS 92ND DIVISION,

CAMP FUNSTON, KAN.

March 28, 1918.

Bulletin No. 35.

1. It should be well known to all colored officers and
men that no useful purpose is served by such acts as
will cause the "Color Question" to be raised. It is not
a question of legal rights, but a question of policy, and
any policy that tends to bring about a conflict of races,
with its resulting animosities, is 1 prejudicial to the mili-
tary interests of the 92nd Division, and therefore preju-
dicial to an important interest of the colored race.

2. To avoid conflicts the Division Commander has re-
peatedly urged that all colored members of his com-
mand, and especially the officers and non-commissioned
officers should refrain from going where their presence
will be resented. In spite of this injunction, one of
the sergeants of the Medical Department has recently
precipitated the precise trouble that should be avoided,
and then called on the Division Commander to take sides
in a row that should never have occurred, and would not
have occurred had the sergeant placed the general good
above his personal pleasure and convenience. This
sergeant entered a theatre, as he undoubtedly had a legal
right to do, and precipitated trouble by making it possi-
ble to allege race discrimination in the seat he was given.
He is entirely within his legal rights in the matter, and
the theatre manager is legally wrong. Nevertheless the
sergeant is guilty of the greater wrong in doing any-
thing, no matter how legally correct, that will provoke
race animosity.

3. The Division Commander repeats that the success
of the Division with all that that success implies, is de-

46

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

pendent upon the good will of the public. That public
is nine-tenths white. White men made the Division, and
can break it just as easily as it becomes a trouble maker.

4. All concerned are again enjoined to place the gen-
eral interest of the Division above personal pride and
gratification. Avoid every situation that can give rise
to racial ill-will. Attend quietly and faithfully to your
duties, and don't go where your presence is not desired.

5. This will be read to all organizations of the 92nd
Division.

By Command of Major General Ballou.

ALLEN J. GREEK,

Lieutenant Colonel General Staff,
Chief of Staff.

Official:

EDW. J. TURGEON,

Captain, Assistant Adjutant, Acting Adjutant.

Nothing that General Ballou could do in the
way of prosecuting the theatre manager, which he
is said to have done, could alleviate the moral effect
of this order upon men who were being sent to
another country to fight for the preservation of the
very privileges of which they at that very moment
were being denied.

The 92nd Division as a complete unit received
no training as such in the United States, but arrived
in France by regiments, the entire number having

4 47

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

landed at Brest by June 20, 1918. The four
infantry regiments went into training at Bourbon
les Bains, where they remained seven weeks, when
they were sent to the Vosges Sector; they remained
there from August 23 to September 20, and
were then sent into the region of the Argonne
Forest, where they were partially engaged in the
great Meuse-Argonne Drive. It was here that the
368th Regiment was sent over the top, without
being equipped with rifle grenades, instruments
that were absolutely necessary for use in the de-
struction of German machine-gun nests. Very few
of the officers and none of the enlisted men had
ever seen such a grenade, and the absence of this
weapon in warfare where guns alone were practi-
cally useless, caused a retreat which resulted in
several of the colored officers being arrested and
sent to prison for cowardice. Capt. Leroy Godman,
a colored attorney from Columbus, Ohio, secured
a record of the facts, and after his return to
America, was instrumental in having them pre-
sented to the War Department; this action resulted
in the release and exoneration of the officers, and
the stigma of cowardice was removed from the
entire regiment, and public notice of it was given
in the newspapers throughout the entire country.

The 92nd Division was never permitted until
two days before the signing of the Armistice to
function in battles as an entire unit. The follow-
ing bulletin by Brigadier General Erwin shows
how certain parts were at all times kept in reserve:

48

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

HEADQUARTERS 92ND DIVISION

A. P. 0. 766

A. E. F.

Bulletin No. 13. January 27, 1919.

1. Participation of the 92nd Division in Major and
Battle operations during the war.

St. Die Sector, Vosges, Aug. 23, 1918 Sept. 20, 1918.
Entire 92nd Division, less Division Artillery.

Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Sept. 26, 1918 Sept. 20, 1918.
Entire 92nd Division (less Division Artillery and Train,
368th Infantry, 3d Battalion 365th Infantry, 1st Battalion
366th Infantry, 3d Battalion 367th Infantry, 1st Battalion
317th Military Police) in reserve. 1st Army Corps.

92nd Division (less 183d Brigade, 317th Engineers and
Train, Division Artillery, Det. Co. A 317th M.P.) in re-
serve. 38th Army Corps.

Sept. 20 Oct. 4, 1918.

368th Inf. and Companies A. & B. 351st M. G. Bn.,
as liaison troops between 1st Army (American) and 4th
French Army operating in the Provision Brigade with
llth Cuirassiers, under command Colonel Durand.
Sept. 26-30, 1918.

MARBACHE SECTOR
Oct. 9-Nov. 11, 1918.

Entire 92nd Division to be centered as date of actual
arrival in sector.

Offensive Operation
2nd Army, Nov. 10-11, 1918.

Entire 92d Division in Marbache Sector, attacking di-
rection Corny.

Patrols, raids, and defense of raids are not mentioned
here. They are local in character, and concern only the

49

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

units involved. These entries are to be made by company
commanders, in strict compliance with the following ex-
tracts from G. 0.

Discretion must be used by company commanders.

Dates and locations of some minor operations as de-
scribed above are the following, (to be entered only by
elements actually engaged).

Repulse of enemy raid, C. R. Mere Henry,
23 hours. 25-26 Aug., 1918.
St. Die Sector

Repulse of enemy raid, Trapelle,
Sept. 1-2, 1918.

Repulse of enemy raid, C. R. Palon,

6 to 8 hours. Sept. 9, 1918.

St. Die Sector, Vosges.

Repulse of enemy raid, Trapelle,

Sept. 19, 1918.
St. Die, Vosges Sector.

In case where units have operated under independent
command, as in the case of the 317th Engineers, in the
Meuse Argonne Offensive, appropriate notation should be
made under supervision of organization commanders
concerned.

By command of BRIGADIER GENERAL ERWIN.

C. K. WILSON,
Col. General Staff, Chief of Staff.

Official:

EDWARD J. TURGEON,
Maj. Infantry, Adj.

50

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

This bulletin shows that from September 26 to
30, 1918, the entire 368th Infantry, and one
battalion each of the 365th, 366th, and 367th were
engaged in action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive,
and that, from September 30 to October 4, the
183rd Brigade, composed of the 365th and 366th
Infantries, was actively engaged in the same offen-
sive. But at no time is the entire 92nd Division
shown to be in active service except on November
10 and 11, when it is reported to be attacking
in the direction of Corny.

During its activities the Division lost 248 men
and 7 officers killed and died of wounds. There
were a number of individual citations for bravery,
and one entire battalion belonging to the 367th
Infantry was awarded the Croix de Guerre. On
the morning of the signing of the Armistice the
365th Infantry had taken several hundred yards of
the battle front, the 366th had captured and was
still in possession of several kilometers of terri-
tory, and the 367th was nearest to the coveted
stronghold of Metz of any of the units of the
Allied Armies. Had the war lasted another day,
the entire Division, along with six other divisions,
had been selected to absorb the first shock of the
battle.

Because of some unusually interesting things
that happened in connection with the 367th Infan-
try, and because it has the distinction of having
the only entire unit of the 92nd Division that was
awarded the Croix de Guerre, its full history fol-
lows in some detail:

51

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

THE 367TH INFANTRY

The 367th Infantry came into existence at Camp
Upton, N. Y., during the latter part of October,
1917. Sixty per cent of the soldiers who composed
this regiment were from the State of New York,
the South furnished 20 per cent, while the re-
mainder came from New England and the West.
It was commanded by Colonel Moss, a regular army
man, originally from Louisiana, and an authority
on military tactics, having published several books
on the subject. He took charge of the regiment on
November 2, 1917, and spent the winter in giving
it what is said to have been the most thorough
training of all the drafted regiments. He also
christened the organization with the name of Buf-
faloes ; this name had been given to colored soldiers
by the Indians, in the early western pioneer days,
when colored troops made it so interesting for the
Red Men in frontier warfare, as to remind them
of the buffaloes of their own great western plains.
The name was finally adopted by the entire 92nd
Division.

On June 10, 1918, the regiment embarked for
France, landing at Brest on June 19. They rested
for a few days in dog tents, pitched on the cold wet
ground at Camp Pontanezen, and then entrained for
Haute Saone, where they were given seven weeks'
intensive training in trench warfare and gas instruc-
tion, along with the other regiments of the 92nd
Division. Several officers, both white and colored,

52

SCENE OF DEVASTATION IN WAR-TORN FRANCE

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

were given additional training in the American
Training School at Gondre Court.

On August 22, the regiment took over its first
trenches at the front in the Vosges Sector, where
they remained until September 18, during which
time numerous raids, patrols, etc., were planned
and executed.

One of the interesting things that happened to
them while in this sector, was the dropping of
propaganda literature from German aircraft. The
following circular was picked up by them on
September 3, 1918:

TO THE COLORED SOLDIERS OF THE UNITED
STATES ARMY

"Hello, boys, what are you doing over here? Fighting
the Germans? Why? Have they ever done you any
harm? Of course some white folks and the lying Eng-
lish-American papers told you that the Germans ought to
be wiped out for the sake of humanity and Democracy.
What is Democracy? Personal freedom; all citizens en-
joying the same rights socially and before the law. Do
you enjoy the same rights as the white people do in
America, the land of freedom and Democracy, or are
you not rather treated over there as second class citizens?

Can you get into a restaurant where white people dine?
Can you get a seat in a theatre where white people sit?
Can you get a seat or a berth in a railroad car, or can
you even ride in the South in the same street car with
the white people?

And how about the law? Is lynching and the most
horrible crimes connected therewith, a lawful proceeding
in a Democratic country? Now all this is entirely differ-
ent in Germany, where they do like colored people;

53

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

where they treat them as gentlemen and as white men,
and quite a number of colored people have fine posi-
tions in business in Berlin and other German cities.
Why, then, fight the Germans only for the benefit of
the Wall Street robbers, and to protect the millions that
they have loaned to the English, French, and Italians?

You have been made the tool of the egotistic and
rapacious rich in America, and there is nothing in the
whole game for you but broken bones, horrible wounds,
spoiled health, or death. No satisfaction whatever will
you get out of this unjust war. You have never seen
Germany, so you are fools if you allow people to make
you hate us. Come over and see for yourself. Let those
do the fighting who make the profit out of this war.
Don't allow them to use you as cannon fodder.

To carry a gun in this service is not an honor but a
shame. Throw it away and come over to the German
lines. You will find friends who will help you."

After leaving the Vosges Sector, the organization
was sent to the Marbache Sector, where it joined
the other regiments of the 92nd Division just out-
side of Toul. It was here that the First Battalion
distinguished itself by coming to the rescue of the
56th Infantry on the left. Captain Morris, and
Lieutenants Hunton, Dabney, and Davidson were
instrumental in having the terrific fire which was
being directed at the regiment, turned onto their
own organization, thus enabling the suffering troops
to retire to safety; they were at the same time able
to hold their own ground and take over the terri-
tory of the retiring soldiers. For this action the
Battalion was cited in glowing terms by a French
General, and awarded the Croix de Guerre. It was

54

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

also given special mention by Major General
Ballou.

Staff officers of this regiment tried very hard to
prevent entrance of men into French homes. One
medical sergeant tells of order issued in French
and English, fixing penalty for such at living on
bread and water in pup tents for 24 hours, and
being forced to hike 18 miles with pack.

After the signing of the Armistice, the regiment
was sent to the forwarding camp at Le Mans. Here
some interesting things happened by way of race
discrimination. On January 21, 1919, General
Pershing made a visit to the camp for the purpose
of reviewing the troops. Following is a memo-
randum posted for the benefit of the colored troops:

HEADQUARTERS FORWARDING CAMP
AMERICAN EMBARKATION CENTER.

A. P. 0. 762.

Memorandum: No. 299 E. 0.

To All Organizations. January 21, 1919.

1. For your information and guidance.
PROGRAM REFERENCE VISIT OF GENERAL PERSHING

9:30 A.M. Arrive Forwarding Camp. All troops
possible, except colored to be under arms.

Formation to be designed by General Longan.

Only necessary supply work an^ police work to be
performed up to the time troops are dismissed in order
that they may prepare for reception of General Pershing.
As soon as dismissed, men to get into working clothes
and go to their respective tasks in order that Commander-

55

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

in-Chief may see construction going on. (Work of dry
delousing plant not to be interrupted.) Colored troops
will be passed through wet delousing process as planned.

Colored troops will furnish usual police details, and
their work not interrupted.

Colored troops who are not at work, to be in their
quarters, or in their tents, kitchens, delousing plants,
etc>, to be inspected.

Route followed to be designated by General Longan.

Plan of Forwarding Camp as planned to be in pos-
session of General Longan to show Commander-in-Chief.

11:00 A.M. Leave Forwarding Camp going to Classi-
fication Camp by way of Spur.

Officers not on duty will assemble at these Headquar-
ters at 9:15 A.M.

By Command of BRIGADIER GENERAL LONGAN.

RICHARD M. LEVY,
Major C. A. C., U. S. A., Camp Adjutant.

HEADQUARTERS, 367TH INFANTRY,

A. P. O. 766, A. E. F.

January 21, 1919.

To Organization Commanders for their information,
guidance and compliance.

Men will be kept busy at all times. Area formerly
used for tents will be levelled, ditches filled in, ditches
along road will be carefully policed.

By Order of COLONEL BASSETT.

ELMER A. BRUETT.

When General Pershing came, he noted the
absence of the colored troops, and asked for them.
He was told that they were at work. Whereupon

56

I

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

he set another day for a return trip, in order that
he might review them also.

Another order prescribing the eating place for
colored officers at the Le Mans Evacuation Camp
was as follows:

HEADQUARTERS AREA D.

January 25, 1919.
Memorandum C. 0. 367th Infantry:

White officers desiring meals in their quarters will
have their orderlies report to Lieutenant Williams at the
tent adjoining Area Headquarters for cards to present at
Officers' Mess.

All Colored Officers will mess at Officers' Mess in D.-17.

F. M. CRAWFORD,
1st Lt. Infantry, Area "D"

THE EFFICIENCY BOARD

Several references have been made to efficiency
boards and their efforts to remove colored officers
from the 92nd Division and other colored organi-
zations. In order that a clear idea may be con-
veyed as to the type of men who suffered from these
injustices, as well as how these boards operated,
the life, training, and experience of the first officer
of the 92nd Division to undergo such an ordeal,
follows in detail:

Captain Matthew Virgil Boutte was born in New
Iberia, Louisiana, of Creole parentage; his father
was a sugar planter, of the type that used to strap

57

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

his gun on his saddle girth for protection, and go
to the poles and vote, in the days when guns were
used to maintain white supremacy in that State.

He sent his son to Straight University, New
Orleans, from 1898 to 1903, where he received the
rudiments of an education. Afterwards young
Boutte went to Fisk, where he finished a high school
course, and a four years' college course; thence to
the University of Illinois, where he graduated as
a chemist and pharmacist; he then taught quantita-
tive chemistry at Meharry Medical College, and
opened a drugstore in Nashville, Tenn. This he
disposed of after receiving his commission at the
Des Moines Training School. While in Nashville,
he joined the Tennessee National Guard, the only
Colored National Guard Company in the South.
With six months' training there as a private, he
entered the Des Moines School, and was one of
the few who received the commission of captain.

On November 1, 1917, he went to Rockford, 111.,
where he attended Machine Gun School at Camp
Grant, and organized Company 350, Machine Gun
Battalion. His company was well trained not only
in military tactics, but also to such a high degree
of athletic efficiency, that it received a loving
cup for wnning a cross country run; also won
cup for individual running in whole brigade. The
winner, Sergeant Bluitt, was afterward commis-
sioned lieutenant.

On June 6, 1918, Captain Boutte sailed for
France, with the advance officers' party of the 92nd
Division. They landed at Brest where the colored

58

GROUP OF OFFICERS OF 92ND DIVISION

1. Capt. Matthew Virgil Boutte.
3. Lieut. Benjamin H. Hunton. 4. Lieut.
Frank L. Chisholm. 6. Lieut. Ernest M.
R. Daly.

2. Lieut. J.

Frank L.

Williams Clifford.
Drye. 5. Lieut.
Gould. 7. Lieut. Victor

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

officers received a taste of the American segrega-
tion that afterwards became so annoying in
France. Rooms for the entire party, white and
colored, had been reserved at the Hotel Continental,
but the colored officers were told to go to Camp
Pontanezen, where they would find barracks; there
they were to sleep on boards with no mattresses,
and only one blanket apiece. Captain Boutte pro-
tested, and the party returned to Brest, where they
discovered that the white officers had not made the
French people understand that the rooms held in
reserve were for them, and consequently had gone
elsewhere. Captain Boutte, being able to speak
French quite fluently, was able to get the reserved
rooms for the six colored officers. He was sent
from Brest to Bourbon les Bains to serve as billet-
ing officer. Here he was told not to take the French
people's kindness for friendship, but to treat them
just as he had been taught to treat white people at
home. When they found that his ability to speak
French gave him ready entree into French homes,
they relieved him of all work as billeting officer,
so that he would have no occasion for going among
the French people.

On July 7 he was returned to his company.
He instructed his men to such a point of efficiency
that the inspector of machine-gun tactics com-
mended his work. On July 24 he was placed
under close arrest. While under arrest he was
forced to ride from one town to another in an open
wagon, and between two armed guards, in order
that his spirit might be thoroughly crushed, and

59

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

his humiliation made complete. Twenty-three
specifications under the 96th Article of War were
placed against him. These dealt with duties im-
posed upon the Commanding Officer of the Com-
pany by the Commanding Officer of the Battalion.
After he had been under close arrest for eight
days, the charges were submitted to him; following
are samples of specifications:

"Why did you command your first sergeant to
remain at home instead of having him on the field
of drill, as commanded from headquarters?"

"Why did your mess sergeant not have his bill
of fare posted on a certain day?"

Boutte's answer was that in order to be respons-
ible for his company he must have full control of
his officers, as was his military right; and as for
the mess sergeant's bill of fare, it could easily
have blown away after having been put in its ac-
customed place. In due time he was called before
the Efficiency Board, in order that reasons might be
given why he should not be court-martialed. At
the trial Major Raborg withdrew all specifications
but six, saying that he had found that the others
were not true. Subsequently it was learned that
he had written a letter to the commanding officer,
asking that all colored officers be removed. Upon
being questioned as to the efficiency of Captain
Boutte, he replied that he was mentally and morally
efficient, but otherwise he was not. It then became
evident that it was such a clear case of prejudice,

60

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

that Captain Boutte was returned to his company,
and Major Raborg removed as commander of the
battalion. But a number of officers became victims
of this now notorious efficiency board, and while
no one would suppose that all colored officers were
above criticism, and must know that some of them
were justly removed, still, there is no doubt that
many of them were as innocent as the subject of
this sketch. Captain Boutte retained Captain Leroy
Godman, of Columbus, Ohio, as his attorney, and
says he owes much to him for his acquittal and
exoneration. All officers on trial were not so
fortunate in being able to secure a good colored
lawyer, while others were simply condemned as
inefficient, and removed, without being given a
chance for defense. Capt Boutte was afterwards
for six months a member of General Pershing's
staff, with headquarters in Paris.

THE 325TH SIGNAL BATTALION

Attached to the 92nd Division was the first
colored Signal Corps ever organized. It was known
as the 325th Signal Battalion. They were assem-
bled during the months of December and January,
1917-18, respectively, and after five months' train-
ing were sent to France. After an additional period
of training at Voisey, Haute Marne, they were sent
to the Vosges Mountains, and afterwards to the
Argonne, where they engaged in actual warfare;
they were in the Marbache Sector, near Metz, when
the Armistice was signed. They were commended

61

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

highly both by the French and American High
Command, and some of them were cited for
bravery, and decorated with the Croix de Guerre.
In the 92nd Division a total number of 14 officers
and 42 men were cited for bravery.

THE 167TH FIELD ARTILLERY

The 167th Field Artillery Brigade was composed
of the 349th, 350th, and 351st Regiments of
Artillery; the first two handled light equipment,
and received their training at Camp Dix, while the
latter had heavy equipment and was trained at
Camp Meade. They also had attached to them
the 317th Ammunition Train, whose 36 officers
were all colored but three. In this organization
there were several officers promoted, among them
being Major Milton Dean, of Washington, D. C.,
the only colored man to be promoted to such a rank
overseas, with the exception of Major Joseph Ward,
of Indianapolis, Indiana, whose ability and ser-
vices as a physician were thus recognized; very
few other promotions of colored officers were made
in France; a small number of dental lieutenants
were made captains after the signing of the Armis-
tice, when they were relocated in the Ser/ice of
Supply sections; but the majority came back with
the same rank with which they went over, even
though they had shown marked ability, and had
been cited and decorated for bravery.

Early in October, 1918, 33 colored officers, who
were to have been attached to the 167th Field

62

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Artillery, landed in St. Nazaire; they were second
lieutenants, who had been trained to take the places
of some of the white officers of that organization;
but instead, they were first sent to La Corneau,
near Bordeaux, where they remained about a week;
they were then ordered to leave there, and after
about three weeks' junketing about they became
stationed at Camp Meurcon, near Vannes. At this
place they were attached to the 63rd American
Artillery Brigade, composed altogether of southern
white men; they were required to drill these men,
even though their prejudices were so strong that
they would not salute their colored officers if there
was any possible way to avoid it; but the officers
stuck to their task, and had started to the front with
the regiment when the Armistice was signed. They
were then ordered to Brest to embark for home;
here they were detached from the regiment and
returned to Camp Meurcon, near Vannes, where
they were attached to another white outfit; they
remained there another three weeks, and were then
sent to Nancy in search of the 167th Artillery, to
which they were originally to have been attached;
finding that the Brigade had left, they proceeded
to the Evacuation Camp at Le Mans, where they
found the organization stationed in camps located
in the neighborhood of the city; they then became
a part of the official family of the Brigade, but
some were detached on the eve of their return to
the States, and made to return home as casuals;
this seemed to be a part of the policy of those who
had charge of the transportation of troops. The

5 63

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

writer remembers several incidents during her
period of service at Brest, where colored officers
had made all preparations to return with their
organizations, and within a few hours of sailing
would be detached; some contended vigorously
for what they considered their rights, while others
resigned themselves to their fate; then frequently
when they would have sailing orders to return home
as casuals, they would be turned back, when it
would be discovered that they were colored; some-
times this occurred even after they had gotten on
the gang plank. On July 16, 1919, the 184th
Casual Company, together with the 323rd Ordi-
nance Battalion, about 300 in number, were sent
back after half of them had gotten aboard the boat,
as a result of a protest against their color. Some
of these men came to the writer sick at heart, and
said that such treatment seemed more than they
could bear.

The 167th Field Artillery, the first of its kind
that was ever organized, was under the command
of Brigadier General Sherburne, of Massachusetts,
who seemed in every way to have the interest of
the troops at heart; they landed at Brest, June 26,
1918, and after being attached to the 92nd Division,
were engaged in action at Pagny, Bois Frehart,
Cherimo, and Bois La Cote; and it was under the
barrage of this Brigade that the Division while on
the Lorraine Front, between Toul and Nancy, was
able to advance, capture a number of towns, and
stand ready to enter the coveted stronghold of
Metz, when the Armistice was signed.

64

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

During their period of action, they gave excel-
lent service, and the following words of commenda-
tion were given the 351st Regiment by their com-
mander:

HEADQUARTERS 351sx FIELD ARTILLERY

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES

GENERAL ORDER No. 3.

December 27, 1918.

When you landed in France you were acclaimed as
comrades in arms, brothers in a great cause. In the
days that have passed, no man, no little child, has had
cause to regret that first glorious welcome. Surrounded
by new and unusual conditions, beset by subtle tempta-
tions, you have kept your hearts high, and with purpose
fixed on the high ideal of service, you have put away
those things that did not contribute strength for the task
at hand. You have been men.

Through rain and in tents, or in cold billets, you have
cheerfully pushed on to fit yourselves for the final test,
and at length you came to the front lines. There under
fire by day and night you served the pieces, sending
back gas for gas, and shell for shell, two for one. The
orders reached the guns because you maintained the con-
nections; the ammunition was there because neither the
elements nor enemy stopped you. The mission has been
accomplished and you have been what America expects
her sons to be brave soldiers'.

Your first six months of service on foreign soil have
ended; accordingly, all officers and enlisted men of the
351st Field Artillery are authorized and ordered to wear
one Service Chevron. As surely as this chevron stands

65

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

for something accomplished, just as surely it imposes
an added obligation; it sets a new standard of soldierly
qualities; it is a reminder of what manner of men you
are. As you have earned it fairly and well, so you will
strive to be worthy of it, and of the things for which it
stands', every man a guardian of the good name of the
regiment.

By Command of COLONEL WADE H. CARPENTER.

GEORGE C. MATHER,
Capt. F. A., U. S. A., Adj. 351s/ Field Artillery.

In taking his farewell of the 167th Field Artil-
lery Brigade, Brigadier General Sherburne re-
corded the following:

1. In leaving the 167th Field Artillery Brigade to take
up other duties, the Brigade Commander wishes to record
in General Orders the entire satisfaction it has given him
to have commanded the first brigade of Negro Artillery
ever organized. This satisfaction is due to the excellent
record the men have made. Undertaking a work that was
new to them, they brought it faithfulness, zeal, and patri-
otic fervor. They went into the line and conducted
themselves in a manner to win praise of all. They had
been picked for important work in the offensive which
had been planned to start after November llth.

2. The Brigade Commander will ever cherish the
words of the Commander in Chief, the compliments he
paid in all sincerity to this Brigade while he watched
it pass in review last Wednesday. He wishes the Brigade
to understand that these words of appreciation were
evoked only because each man had worked conscientious-
ly and unflaggingly to make the organization a success.

66

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

3. The Brigade Commander feels that he should also
make acknowledgment in General Orders of the re-
markable esprit-de-corps displayed by the officers of the
Brigade. They were pioneers in a field, where at the
start, success was problematical. This being the first
Brigade of its kind ever organized, it has been only
natural that the work of the men should have been fea-
tured prominently, yet the same prominence and the same
praise should be accorded the officers. While the Bri-
gade Commander takes this occasion to speak of their
splendid work, he believes that their greatest praise
will come from the men themselves, not only now, but
ever in greater measure when they have returned to
civilian life and have secured the perspective of time
and experience that will teach them how fortunate they
were in making the race's initial effort as artillerymen
under officers who were both skilful artillerymen, and
sympathetic leaders.

By Command of BRIGADIER GENERAL SHERBURNE.

HENRY KING TOOTLE,
1st Lieut., F. A., U. S. A., Acting Adjutant.

In concluding the story of the 92nd Division,
nothing could be said of more significance than
the farewell words used by Major General Ballou,
who had crushed the spirit of the officers and men
in the very beginning of its existence by the notori-
ous Bulletin No. 35, and who had continued his
policy of catering to southern prejudice up until
the time he was removed from the organization;
the memorandum is signed by Col. Allen J. Greer,
who had used his good offices in every way pos-
sible to get all the colored officers removed from
the Division. 2

67

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

HEADQUARTERS 92ND DIVISION,
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES,

A. P. 0. 766.
Memorandum: November 18, 1918.

Five months ago to-day the 92d Division landed in
France.

After seven weeks of training it took over a sector in
the front line, and since then some portion of the Division
has been practically continuously under fire.

It participated in the last battle of the war with credita-
ble success, continuously pressing the attack against
highly organized defensive works. It advanced success-
fully on the first day of the battle, attaining its objectives
and capturing prisoners. This in the face of determined
opposition by an alert enemy, and against rifle, machine
gun and artillery fire. The issue of the second day's
battle was rendered indecisive by the order to cease
firing at 11 A. M., when the Armistice became effective.

The Division Commander, in taking leave of what he
considers himself justly entitled to regard as his Division,
feels that he has accomplished his mission. His work
is done and will endure. The results have not always
been brilliant,, and many times were discouraging, yet
a well-organized, well-disciplined, and well-trained
Colored Division has been created and commanded by
him to include the last shot of the great World War.

May the future conduct of every officer and man be
such as to reflect credit upon the Division and upon the
colored race.

By Command of MAJOR GENERAL BALLOU,

ALLEN J. GREER,

Col., General Staff, Chief of Staff.
Official:
EDW. J. TURGEON,

Ma]. Inf., U. S. A., Acting Adjutant.

68

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

THE 93RD DIVISION

The 93rd Division was to have been composed
of the 15th New York National Guard (369th
Infantry), the 8th Illinois National Guard (370th
Infantry) and the 371st and 372nd Infantries.
Col. Charles Young was to have been its com-
mander. The Division never materialized, how-
ever, and the different regiments were brigaded
with the French troops.

THE 369TH INFANTRY

The 369th Infantry, or 15th New York National
Guard was organized in 1916, and did guard duty
during the summer of 1917 in the States of New
York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It came into
existence with the understanding that it was to
have a full quota of colored officers; some un-
favorable conditions, however, caused very few
to attempt to qualify, and when they sailed for
France on December 14, 1917, they had only the
following named: Captains Charles W. Fillmore
and Napoleon B. Marshall, First Lieutenants
George W. Lacey and James Reese Europe, and
Second Lieutenant D. Lincoln Reid; the other
officers were white, with Col. William Hayward
commanding.

The regiment landed at Brest on December 27,
1917, being the first colored American fighting
troops to put their feet on French soil; on January
1, 1918, they left by train for St. Nazaire, where

69

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

they remained for two months building railroads,
docks, piers, and working in store houses, in addi-
tion to keeping up their military training exercises.
Here their name was changed from 15th New York
N. G. to 369th Infantry. On March 12 they were
sent to Givry in Argonne, where they were billeted
at Noirleu, St. Mard, and Remacourt. They re-
mained at these points until April 8, when they
were sent to Main-de-Massiges, Champagne Sector,
where they were attached to the 16th Division of
the 4th French Army, and became to all intents
and purposes, French soldiers; their only mark of
differentiation was their uniforms, and sometimes
they even wore the French helmet.

For 191 days these soldiers were in the front
line trenches, and it is claimed by them that they
remained there for a longer continuous period
than any troops in the allied armies. They were
engaged in the battles of Main-de-Massiges, Butte-
de-Mesil, the Dormois, Seechault, Argonne Forest,
Ripont, Kuppinase, Vosges Mountains, the Aisne,
the Tourbe, Maison-en-Champagne, Fontaine, and
Bellevue Ridge.

By an accident, it is said, the regimental records
were lost, but the casualties are estimated at 600
killed and 3,000 replacements; the replacements
were made from new recruits just brought over
from the States, and sometimes they more than
filled the vacancies made by the killed and
wounded. These new recruits were often untrained,
and frequently had to be taught to load a gun
after they reached the front line trenches; their

70

GROUP OF COMMISSIONED AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
OF 15xH NEW YORK (369TH INF.)

1. Capt. Charles W. Fillmore. 2. Capt. Napoleon B. Marshall. 3. Group
of Sergeants. 4. Needham Roberts. 5. Henry Johnson.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

ignorance of how to protect themselves in battle
caused the list of killed and wounded to be much
larger than it otherwise would have been; but with
the assistance of their comrades in arms, they soon
became seasoned soldiers; and, according to a
record published by 19 non-commissioned officers,
while the regiment made tremendous sacrifices, they
inflicted much greater losses on the enemy than
they themselves suffered, and captured many
prisoners and munitions of war.

For its record in the great German Offensive of
July, 1918, and the Allied Offensive of the fol-
lowing September and October, the regiment was
awarded the Croix de Guerre. In addition to this
there were 132 officers and men cited for conspic-
uous and meritorious conduct, and awarded the
Croix de Guerre or the Legion d'Honneur. Among
these were the now famous Henry Johnson and
Needham Roberts, the first two Americans, white
or colored, to be decorated ; these two men defeated
twenty or more Germans in one midnight engage-
ment, by the skillful use of hand grenades, the
butt ends of their rifles, and the bolo knife; they
routed an entire machine-gun nest, and brought
back numerous war trophies; both were severely
wounded, and remained in the hospital for some
time before they were again able for service.

After the victory of the great German Offensive
of July, 1918, General Gouraud, Commander of
the 4th French Army, with whom the organization
was fighting, issued the following bulletin:

71

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Fourth Army Staff,
5th B., No. 6954/3. July 16, 1918.

TO THE FRENCH AND AMERICAN SOLDIERS OF
THE FOURTH FRENCH ARMY

During the day of July 15th you have broken the
efforts of fifteen German Divisions supported by ten
others.

They were, from their orders, to reach the Marne
in the evening; you have stopped them where we wanted
to give and to win the battle.

You have the right to be proud, heroic infantry-
men and machine gunners of the advanced posts, who
have signalled the attack, and who have subdivided
it, aviators who flew over it, battalions and batteries
who have broken it, staffs who have so minutely pre-
pared that battlefield.

It is a hard blow to the enemy. It is a beautiful
day for France.

I rely upon you that it will always be the same,
each time they will dare to attack you, and with all
my heart of a soldier, I thank you.

(Signed) GOURAUD.

In combination with the facts that the regiment
was the first of the colored Americans to see active
service at the front, and produced the first two
winners of the Croix de Guerre of all the soldiers
of the American Expeditionary Forces, they have
the final distinction of having been the first unit
of the Allied Armies to reach the Rhine. They
arrived at Blodelsheim on the Rhine on November

72

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

18, 1918, as the advance guard of the 161st Divi-
sion of the 2nd French Army. The next day after
the signing of the Armistice, Marshal Foch gave out
the following document to be read to the command;
it was read to these men three days after they
reached Blodelsheim:

HEADQUARTERS 369TH INFANTRY, U. S. A.

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES,

France, 21st November, 1918.

BLODELSHEIM

Document No. 21-11-3.
Bulletin:

1. The following is published and will be read to
the command:

The Commander in Chief Allies G. H. Q.

of the Allied Armies November, 12, 1918.

General Staff
1st Section
5,961

OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, AND PRIVATES

After having boldly stopped the enemy, you have at-
tacked them for months with indefatigable faith and
energy, giving them no rest.

You have won the greatest battle in history, and saved
the most sacred cause, the Liberty of the World.

73

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Be proud of it.

With immortal glory you have adorned your flags.

Posterity will be indebted to you with gratitude.

The Marshal of France,

Commander in Chief of the Allied Armies,

FOCH.

By order of COLONEL HAYWARD:

T. A. RYAN,
1st Lt., 369th Infantry,

Acting Adjutant.

While the regiment embarked for France with
five colored officers, it returned with only one,
Lieutenant James Reese Europe, of the famous
15th Infantry Band. The others were transferred to
other organizations under the peculiar system that
was used for the purpose of moving colored officers
about like checkers on a checker board. Captain
Marshall was sent to the 365th Infantry, while the
other three were attached to the 370th. Captain
Fillmore was decorated with the Croix de Guerre
before leaving the 369th, and Lieutenants Lacey
and Reid after they became members of the regi-
ment from Illinois, a proof that the French recog-
nized their ability.

The regiment returned to the States on Febru-
ary 12, 1918. They had made a splendid record
all through their period of service, and in the
words of a tribute paid by the new 15th Regiment

74

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

to the old they "Never lost a prisoner, a trench,
nor a foot of ground, and demonstrated for all
time the bravery of the American Negro, his high
quality as a soldier, and his devotion to the cause
of liberty."

The City of New York gave them a tremendous,
whole-hearted, and royal welcome, and the New
York Herald republished in their honor the fol-
lowing poem from "The Black Phalanx,' 9 com-
posed by George Henry Boker:

THE BLACK REGIMENT

"Dark as the clouds even,
Ranked in the western heaven,
Waiting the breath that lifts
All the dread mass, and drifts
Tempest and falling brand
Over a ruined land,
So still and orderly,
Arm to arm, knee to knee,
Waiting the great event,
Stands the black regiment.

Down the long dusky line
Teeth gleam and eyeballs shine;
And the bright bayonet,
Bristling and firmly set,
Flashed with a purpose grand,
Long ere the sharp command
Of the fierce rolling drum
Told them their time had come,
Told them what word was sent
For the black regiment.

75

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. t\

'Now,' the flag-sergeant cried,
'Though death and hell betide,
Let the whole nation see
If we are fit to be
Free in this land; or bound
Down, like the whining hound,
Bound with red stripes of pain
In our old chains again!'
Oh, what a shout there went
From the black regiment!

'Charge!' trump and drum awoke;
Onward the bondmen broke;
Bayonet and saber stroke
Vainly opposed their rush,
Through the wild battles' crush,
With but one thought aflush,
Driving their lords like chaff,
In the guns' mouths they laugh,
Or at the slippery brands,
Leaping with open hands,
Down they tear man and horse,
Down in their awful course;
Trampling with bloody heel
Over the crashing steel,
All their eyes forward bent,
Rushed the black regiment.

'Freedom!' their battle cry,
'Freedom!' or leave to die!'
Ah! and they meant the word,
Not as with us 'tis heard,
Not a mere party shout:
They gave their spirits out;
Trusted the end to God,
And on the gory sod
Rolled in triumphant blood,

76

VIEWS TAKEN FROM THE BATTLEFIELDS OF THE
GREAT WAR

1. French Anti-Aircraft Gun. 2. Long German Gun. 3. Mrs.

Hunton in barbed wire entanglement in "No Man's Land." 4. A

View of Trench in Hindenburg Line, at Soissons. 5. Dead Man's

Hill. 6. French Flame Throwers. 7. Burying German Dead.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Glad to strike one free blow,
Whether for weal or woe;
Glad to breathe one free breath,
Though on the lips of death;
Praying alas! in vain!
That they might fall again
So they could once more see
That burst to liberty!
This was what 'freedom' lent
To the black regiment.

Hundreds on hundreds fell;
But they are resting well;
Scourges and shackles strong,
Never shall do them wrong.
Oh, to the living few,
Soldiers, be just and true!
Hail them as comrades tried;
Fight with them side by side;
Never, in field or tent,
Scorn the black regiment."

THE 370TH INFANTRY (STH ILLINOIS, N. G.)

We feel that special emphasis should be given
the 370th Infantry, because it was the only regi-
ment that crossed the sea with a full quota of
colored officers; made a splendid record for
bravery; received numerous certificates from the
French people setting forth their high appreciation
for their excellent behavior; received numerous
individual citations for conspicuous and merito-
rious conduct, and returned with a full quota of
colored officers with the exception of a colonel,
one captain, and one 2nd lieutenant.

77

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

When the regiment embarked for France, the
following named were the field officers: Col.
Franklin A. Denison, Lieut. Col. Otis B. Duncan,
Major Rufus M. Stokes, Major Charles L. Hunt,
Major Arthur B. Williams, the Regimental Adju-
tant being Capt. John H. Patton. After being in
France for a period of three months and a few
days, Colonel Denison, because of illness, was re-
placed by Col. T. A. Roberts, who became the only
white officer in the regiment. Later Capt. John T.
Prout, and 2nd Lieutenant Stapleton were added,
making a total of three white officers. This left
Lieutenant Colonel Duncan, of Springfield, 111., the
highest ranking colored officer overseas. The
record of this regiment should forever silence the
contention made by so many, that colored men have
not the ability to be officers, and that at any rate,
colored soldiers will not follow the leadership of
officers of their own race.

The regiment was called into service on July
25, 1917, and the following October entrained for
Houston, Texas, where they spent the winter in
training, and where they conducted themselves with
such admirable decorum, that even that hostile city
commended and applauded them vigorously when
they departed on March 6, 1918, for Newport
News, from which city they were to take transport
for France.

They landed at Brest on April 6, 1918, and
after spending three days at Camp Pontanezen,
took train and went to the town of Grand Villars.
Here they were attached to the 73rd French Divi-

78

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

sion, were reorganized according to the French
regulations, and in fact became French soldiers in
every respect except their uniforms; they were even
furnished with French food, and chefs to teach
them how to prepare it most economically. They
were given six weeks intensive training, and were
allowed to mingle freely at all times with the
French troops, in order that they might profit by
close contact with veteran warriors. A new equal-
ity was tasted at; this time by these American
colored men; they were treated upon an absolutely
equal basis with other men, while their officers
moved with perfect ease among the highest officials
of the French Army; they were received with all
social and military courtesy due their rank.

After iheir period of training, they were moved
by easy stages towards the front, and on June 21
began occupying positions in the St. Mihiel Sector,
where there was desultory machine gun and rifle
firing; by July 6 they had been moved by train
and placed immediately behind the lines in the
Argonne Forest; here they remained six weeks,
and were then assigned to be one of the three in-
fantry regiments of the 59th French Division, which
had had its ranks largely depleted by the battles of
Chavigny, Leury, and the Bois de Beaumont.

On September 15, 1918, the regiment was
ordered to the region of St. Bandry (Meuse) . Four
companies took position opposite Mont de Singnes,
and an attack was ordered which lasted five days
(September 16-21); during this time both officers
and men had a chance to distinguish themselves,

6 79

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and a number were awarded decorations for meri-
torious and gallant conduct. Perhaps the most
noteworthy of these was Sergt. Matthew Jenkins,
who captured a large section of the enemy works,
with only a platoon of men at his command. He
advanced so far ahead of the units on his right
and left that he was cut off from supplies, and he
and his men went without food for two days; they
turned their captured ammunition and machine
guns upon the enemy, and held the positions until
reinforcements could reach them. For this act of
heroism, Sergeant Jenkins was awarded the French
Croix de Guerre and the American Distinguished
Service Cross.

On September 26, 1918, the regiment for the
first time took over a full regimental sector, Colonel
Roberts locating his commanding post at Antioch
Farm. From this date until the enemy began its
retreat on October 12, the organization was con-
stantly under fire from enemy equipment located in
the Bois de Mortier, a dense wood.

Perhaps the most important engagement was
that which occurred at Ferme de La Riviere. Here
on September 30, Lieut. Col. Duncan's battalion
was ordered to make an attack which necessitated
an advance across open fields. While preparations
were going on enemy aviators discovered their
position, and a terrific bombardment was at once
started, incapacitating three company commanders,
three lieutenants, and completely demoralizing the
company. Lieut. George M. Murphy was ordered
to detail a man to gather up the scattered frag-

80

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

ments of the organization. Realizing the impor-
tance of the mission, the lieutenant himself volun-
teered, and though under continuous shell fire was
able to locate and reorganize the company. For this
action Lieutenant Murphy was cited for especially
conspicuous and meritorious conduct.

The attack which Lieutenant Colonel Duncan
was ordered to make was prosecuted vigorously,
despite the bombardment of enemy aviators, and
by October 4, one of the strongest points in the
Hindenburg Line had been taken.

On October 4, 1918, a patrol of one officer and
twenty men was called for, to penetrate into the Bois
de Mortier, in order to ascertain the strength of the
enemy. Capt. Chester Saunders, and the desired
number of men immediately responded, and at
3.30 o'clock in the morning started on the mission.
They were within fifty yards of the enemy before
they were discovered. Fire from all sides was
immediately opened upon them, but Captain
Saunders, with remarkable self-possession, made
notation of the nests of machine guns, and returned
to his organization just before daylight, without the
loss of a man. Captain Saunders was awarded the
Croix de Guerre, and the patrol was highly com-
mended by the commanding officer for their heroic
action.

On October 12, 1918, the entire division was
ordered to advance, and the Battalion under Cap-
tain Patton took up the pursuit by way of the Bois
de Oiry. This wood had just been evacuated by
the Germans, and to show that they were expecting

81

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

to be followed up closely by the allied troops, they
left everything in readiness for them. Tools valu-
able for wire cutting, and other devices so neces-
sary in modern warfare, were left in easy reach,
but no sooner would they be picked up than there
would be an explosion. All writing conveniences
were left ready for immediate use, but every pen-
holder was a messenger of death. Beds would be
so inviting to the tired and footsore soldier, but
the sdieets held deadly chemicals, which lulled
him into an endless sleep. These are examples
which show the wicked ingenuity of the German.
Captain Patton, for making this exceedingly diffi-
cult advance through this maze of trickery, was
commended by the commanding officer, as was
Major Stokes, who was successful in clearing the
Bois de Mortier, a very important enemy strong-
hold.

On October 27, 1918, after a rest period which
was spent in building roads, the regiment was again
ordered into the lines. They moved up into the
vicinity of Grandlup, where they were subjected to
severe shelling, and in some places machine-gun
and rifle firing. Company A, stationed in the vicin-
ity of Chantrud Farm, suffered a loss of 35 killed
and 50 wounded as a result of a shell falling in
their midst while at mess.

On November 5, 1918, a general advance was
ordered, which was continued in hot pursuit of the
enemy until the Armistice was signed on Novem-
ber 11, 1918. Company C, of Prout's Battalion,
under command of Capt. James H. Smith, was

82

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

awarded the Croix de Guerre and palm, the high-
est citation awarded in the regiment. This was
given for the attacking and occupying of St. Pierre-
mont, the crossing of the River Sierre, and the
taking of three pieces of enemy artillery and several
machine guns, despite strong resistance from the
enemy.

For attacking and taking the town of Lorgny,
from which point the French commander and his
troops were being severely shelled, Lieut. Osceola
A. Browning, commander of Company M, and a
number of others, received the French Croix de
Guerre, and the American Distinguished Service
Cross.

On November 11, just before the signing of
the Armistice, an enemy combat train of about
fifty vehicles was captured, thus completing a
record of continuous, difficult and vigorous war-
fare, every inch of the way from Antioch Farm,
near the ruins of Vauxillion, to the Belgian border;
Lieutenant Colonel Duncan won the name of the
lieutenant colonel who would not stop fighting,
because he led his troops into the Belgian Village
of Gue D'Hossus, before he could be reached with
the message that the Armistice had become effective.

The 370th Infantry carried with it a full staff
of colored medical officers, composed of Major
James R. White, in command, Captains Leonard W.
Lewis, and Spencer Dickinson, and Lieutenants
James F. Lawson, Dan M. Moore, Rufus Bacote,
George W. Antoine, Claudius Ballard, and two
dentists, Lieutenants Tancil and Roe.

83

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

With careful elimination of all soldiers who were
not physically fit, the organization entered the ser-
vice in excellent condition. During the winter of
1917 and 1918, much time was given by the medi-
cal department to the delivering of lectures, and a
systematic course of training for the development
of healthy and robust physiques was inaugurated.
The result of this careful training was that only
six men died of disease during the ten months in
France, notwithstanding the fact that they suffered
as many hardships and inconveniences as any other
troops in the conflict. The medical detachment was
composed also of 23 men, who were ever on the
alert to give first aid to the wounded; because of
this prompt attention on the battlefield there were
only 96 out of the entire regiment who lost their
lives. This, in addition to 425 who recovered
from wounds, represents the entire list of casualties
of the organization.

Major White was awarded the Croix de Guerre.
In the words of the citation, "he visited daily the
aid stations in the advanced area, and himself
dressed many of the fallen men, thus giving to
his subordinates the most noble example."

All told there were 33 officers and 57 men of
this regiment who were awarded the Croix de
Guerre, the Distinguished Service Cross, or both.
Among the officers were Col. T. A. Roberts, Lieut.
Col. Otis B. Duncan, Maj. James R. White, Cap-
tains Smith, Patton, Prout, Gwynne, Warner, Allen,
Hall, Alexander, Jackson, Crawford, and Saun-
ders; First Lieutenants Tancil, Browning, Lacey,

84

GROUP OF OFFICERS OF STH ILLINOIS (STOrn INF.)

1. Capt. James H. Smith. 2. Lieut. Elaine G. Alston. 3. Lieut.

George H. Murphy. 4. Capt. John H. Patton. 5. Lieut. William

Andrews. 6. Lieut. A. Hugo Williams. 7. Lieut. George F. Proctor.

8. Lieut. Osceola A. Browning.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Robinson, Ballard, Jackson, Warfield, Gordon,
Kurd, Shelton and Lee; and Second Lieutenants
Cheatham, Norvell, Tisdell, Painter, Price, Reid,
and Jackson.

The colored soldiers were greatly loved by the
French people, and while passing through the town
of Laon, which had been in the hands of the Ger-
mans for four years, the French civilians knelt by
the roadside and kissed the hands of the boys of
the 370th Infantry, so grateful were they for their
deliverance.

From the mayors of every village and town
where the organization had any contact with the
French people, they received testimonials setting
forth their good behavior and splendid decorum;
similar letters were secured with regard to our
soldiers in nearly every section of France, and very
frequently the writer was personally told that they
were better behaved than the white soldiers; espe-
cially was this true in the Leave Area, where all
army restrictions were removed; the absolute in-
crease of disease among all of the colored troops
was only 7 per cent., according to statistics from the
surgeon general's office, while among the white
troops it was 88 per cent.; this in spite of the fact
that a much larger per cent, of them were physically
unfit when they entered the army; in the first draft
36 colored soldiers out of every hundred men were
admitted, while there were only 24 out of every
hundred white; this shows that there was more
care exercised in getting in white men who were
physically sound than there was for the colored.

85

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

In the entire 92nd Division only one soldier was
convicted of criminal assault; in fact the colored
soldiers in all the organizations made such a splen-
did impression upon the French people that a
recent issue of a widely published Paris paper
asked that two million return to France, in order
that they might assist them in building up their
devastated regions, and become a part of their
future civilization.

The following farewell address speaks for itself
with regard to splendid achievements of the 370th
Infantry, and the high esteem in which they were
held:

"OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE 370TH R. I. U. S. :

"You are leaving us. The impossibility at this time
that the German Army can recover from its defeat the
necessity which is imposed upon the peoples of the En-
tente of taking up again the normal life leads the United
States to diminish its effectives in France. You are
chosen among the first to return to America. In the
name of your comrades of the 59th Division, I say to
you, Au revoir in the name of France, thank you.

"The hard and brilliant battles of Chavigny, Leury,
and the Bois de Beaumont, having reduced the effective-
ness of the Division, the American Government gen-
erously put your regiment at the disposition of the
French High Command to re-enforce us. You arrived
from the trenches of the Argonne.

"We at first in September, at Mareuil-sur-Ourq, ad-
mired your fine appearance under arms, the precision
of your review, the suppleness of your evolutions that
presented to the eye, the appearance of silk unrolling its
wavy folds.

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TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F<

"We advanced to the line. Fate placed you on the
banks of the Ailette, in front of the Bois de Mortier.
October 12th you occupied the enemy trenches Acier and
Brouze. On the 13th, we reached the railroad of Laon-
La-Fere the Forest of St. Gobain, principal center of
resistance of the Hindenburg Line, was ours.

"November 5th, the Sierre was at last crossed, the
pursuit became active. Prout's Battalion distinguished
itself at Sal St. Pierre, where it captured a German bat-
tery. Patton's Battalion crossed, the first, the Hirson
Railroad at the Heights of Aubenton, where the Germans
tried to resist. Duncan's Battalion took Lorgny, and
carried away with their ardor, could not be stopped short
of Gue d'Hossus, on November llth, after the Armistice.

"We have hardly had time to appreciate you, and
already you depart.

"As Lieutenant Colonel Duncan said, November 28th,
in offering to me your regimental colors as proof of your
love for France, as an expression of your loyalty to the
59th Division of our Army, you have given us your best,
and you have given out of the fulness of your hearts.

"The blood of your comrades who fell on the soil of
France mixed with the blood of our soldiers, renders
indissoluble the bonds of affection that unite us. We
have besides, the pride of having worked together at a
magnificent task, the pride of bearing on our foreheads
the ray of common grandeur.

"A last time Au revoir.

"All of us of the 59th Division will always remember
the time when the 370th R. I. U. S., under the orders
of the distinguished Colonel Roberts, formed a part of
our beautiful Division."

GENERAL VINCENDON,
Commanding the 59th Division.

( Signed ) VINCENDON.
87

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

THE 371sT AND 372ND REGIMENTS OF INFANTRY

The 371st and 372nd Regiments of Infantry
were composed of drafted troops and National
Guard Organizations. Those of the former came
in a large measure from South Carolina, and were
trained at Camp Jackson in that State; while the
latter organization was composed of the first sepa-
rate battalion of Washington, D. C., Company L,
of the Massachusetts N. G., the first separate com-
pany of the Connecticut State Guard, the 9th sepa-
rate battalion of Ohio, and other National Guard
troops from Tennessee and Maryland.

The 371st had a full quota of white commis-
sioned officers, and colored non-commissioned
officers, while the 372nd had a mixture of white
and colored commissioned officers, with colored
non-commissioned officers. After some heroic ser-
vice on the battlefields of France, the colored com-
missioned officers became victims of the efficiency
board, and at one fell swoop, were nearly all
removed.

These two regiments saw service together in
France, and became noted for their indomitable
courage, and splendid fighting record.

On April 6, 1918, the 371st Infantry left our
ports, and by April 26 was in the training area
at Rembercourt-aux-Port, as an independent unit
of the 13th French Army Corps. Afterwards they
became a supporting regiment to the 68th French
Division, where they remained until July 22, 1918.
Between this date and September 14, 1918, they

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

occupied the Verrieres sub-sector. Here the regi-
ment did exceptional work, their front extending
over a distance of more than five kilometers, always
holding their own ground and at one time half of
the front of the 333rd French Infantry on the left.
On September 14 the regiment was withdrawn
from this sector and taken to the area of Holitz-
1'Eveque, Champagne, and were in reserve of the
9th Army Corps of the 4th French Army, at the
beginning of the great Champagne Offensive.
During this great offensive the regiment suffered
tremendous losses under the blistering fire and
onslaught of the enemy, always carrying the attack
forward in advance of the adjacent troops. Their
Division Commander in forwarding a recommenda-
tion for an army citation for the regiment, re-
marked that they marched forward under heavy
artillery fire, without faltering, and without count-
ing their dead. Following is text of citation:

157TH DIVISION INFANTRY.
October 8th, 1918.

From: Colonel Quillet, commanding the I. D.
To: Colonel of the 371st U. S.

The Colonel commanding the I. D. has proposed your
regiment for a citation to the Army Corps with the fol-
lowing motive.

"Has shown during its first engagement the very best
qualities of bravery and audacity, which are the char-
acteristics of shock troops.

"Under the command of Colonel Miles, it launched
itself with a superb spirit and admirable disregard of

89

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F,

danger at the assault of a position stubbornly defended
by the enemy. It took by terrific fighting under ex-
ceptionally violent machine-gun fire of the enemy artil-
lery, and its cruel losses, numerous prisoners, and secured
cannon, machine guns and important material."

(Signed) T. C. QUILLET,
Commanding the I. D.

The losses of the regiment during its period of
service were 8 officers killed and died of wounds,
42 wounded, and 1,055 enlisted men killed and
wounded, with a total of 28 missing.

The 372nd Infantry, was organized at Camp
Stuart, and landed at St. Nazaire, April 14, 1918.
They spent five weeks in training at Conde-en-
Barrois, Meuse, as part of the 13th French Army
Corps; afterwards became attached to the 63rd
French Division, the 35th French Division, and
finally on July 2, 1918, became a part of the 157th
French Division, to which the 371st Infantry also
became attached.

For more than six months the regiment was on
the front, taking part in the great Champagne
Offensive, and in the battles which centered around
Vanquois in the Argonne, and around Verdun,
including Hill 304, and Dead Man's Hill. They
were in the Vosges Mountains, along with the
371st, training for the Metz Offensive when the
Armistice was signed.

On October 8, 1918, this regiment also received
a citation from Colonel Quillet. Following is its
text:

90

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

157TH DIVISION INFANTRY
No. 3500. October 8, 1918.

From: Colonel Quillet, commanding 157th I. D.
To: Colonel Tupes, commanding 372nd Infantry.

The Colonel commanding the I. D., has recommended
your regiment for citation in the orders of the French
Army, worded as follows:

"Gave proof, through the first engagement, of the finest
qualities of bravery and daring which are the virtues of
assaulting troops."

"Under the orders of Colonel Tupes dashed with
superb gallantry and admirable scorn of danger to the
assault of a position continuously defended by the enemy,
taking it by storm under an exceptionally violent machine-
gun fire; continued the progression in spite of enemy
artillery fire, and very severe losses. They made numer-
ous prisoners, captured cannon, machine guns, and im-
portant war materials."

(Signed) QUILLET.

Upon relinquishing his command of these two
regiments after the signing of the Armistice,
Colonel Quillet gave out the following words of
farewell :

157TH DIVISION, STAFF OF THE INFANTRY.

December 15, 1918.
Order of the Divisional Infantry.

The 371st and 372nd Infantries are leaving France,
after having carried on a hard campaign of six months
with I. D., 157.

After having energetically held a series of difficult
sectors, they took a glorious part in the great decisive
battle which brought the final victory.

91

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

In sectors they have shown an endurance, a vigilance,
a spirit of devotion and remarkable discipline.

In battle they have taken by storm, with a magnificent
animation, very strong positions doggedly defended by
the enemy.

In contemplating the departure of these two fine
regiments which I commanded with pride, I desire to
tell them all how much I think of them for the generous
and precious concurrence which they brought to us at
the decisive period of the war.

I shall keep them always in my soldier heart, their
loyal memories, and particularly those of their distin-
guished commanders who have become my friends.

COLONEL QUILLET,
Commanding the I. D., 157.

About the same time the above was issued,
General Goybet, Commanding Officer of the 157th
French Division, sent out the following General
Orders:

GENERAL ORDERS

On the 12th of December, 1918, the 371st and 372nd
R. I. U. S. have been placed at the disposal of the
American High Command.

With a deep feeling of emotion, on behalf of the 157th
Division, and in my own personal name, I come to bid
farewell to our brave comrades.

For seven months we have lived brothers in arms,
partaking in the same activities, sharing the same hard-
ships and the same dangers. Side by side we took part
in the great Champagne Offensive which was to be
crowned by a tremendous victory.

Never will the 157th Division forget the indomitable
dash, the heroical rush of the American regiments up
the Observatory Ridge and into the Plain of Monthois.

92

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

The most powerful defenses, the most strongly organized
machine-gun nests, the heaviest artillery barrages noth-
ing could stop them. These crack regiments overcame
every obstacle with a most complete contempt for danger;
through their steady devotion the Red Hand Division,
for nine whole days of severe struggle, was constantly
leading the way of the advance of the Fourth Army.

Officers, non-commissioned officers and men, I respect-
fully salute our glorious 1 comrades who have fallen, and
I bow to your colors, side by side with the flag of the
333rd Regiment of Infantry that have shown us the way
to victory.

Dear Friends from America, when you will be back
again on the other side of the ocean, don't forget the
Red Hand Division; our brotherhood has been cemented
in the blood of the brave, and such bonds will never be
destroyed.

Remember your General, who is so glad of having
commanded you, and be sure of his grateful affection
to you forever.

GENERAL GOYBET,
Commanding the 157th Division.

On January 24, 1919, for taking strategic town
in Champagne Offensive the 372nd Infantry was
cited with the Croix de Guerre and palm, the
highest honor of the kind in the gift of the French
Army. It was the first entire organization of the
American Expeditionary Forces to be thus cited. 3
It was received at the hands of Vice-Admiral
Moreau, French Commander of the Port of Brest,
and the ceremony took place at Cours Dajot, over-
looking the Port of Commerce of that city.

In a word of conclusion with regard to the
entire record of the combatant troops, many of

93

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

whom went overseas with hesitations and misgiv-
ings because of the great battle they had already
been compelled to fight against the ill-will of their
own countrymen, it seems that their wonderful
achievements in the face of a propaganda that
continued even across the seas, make them fully
worthy of the beautiful tribute paid them in the
following poem by Roscoe C. Jamison:*

"These truly are the Brave,

These men who cast aside

Old memories, to walk the blood-stained pave

Of sacrifice, joining the solemn tide

That moves away, to suffer and to die

For freedom, when their own is yet denied!

Pride! Prejudice! When they pass by,

Hail them, the Brave, for you now crucified!

These truly are the Free,
These souls that grandly rise
Above base dreams of vengeance for their wrongs,
Who march to war with visions in their eyes
Of peace through Brotherhood, lifting glad songs
Aforetime, while they front the firing line.
Stand and behold! They take the field to-day,
Shedding their blood like Him now held divine,
That those who mock might find a better way!"

* By permission of The Crisis.
94

MISCELLANEOUS VIEWS OF OFFICERS AND MEN

1. Officers engaged in automatic rifle practice. 2. Sergeant Charles
T. Monroe, a winner of the Croix de Guerre and Distinguished
Service Cross. 3. Group of Officers of 372nd Infantry and French
Associates. 4. At the mouth of a dugout. 5. Sergeants Ray Wil-
liams and Wadley Ellis receiving wireless messages from Eiffel
Tower. 6. French Officer giving instructions in machine-gun tactics.
7. Two comrades of the famous "Red Hand Division."

If the muse were mine to tempt it
And my feeble voice were strong,
If my tongue were trained to measure
I would sing a stirring song.
I would sing a song heroic
Of those noble sons of Ham
Of the gallant colored soldiers
Who fought for Uncle Sam.

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.

Non-Combatant Troops

THERE was little difference in the spirit of those
who went to France as welfare workers and
those who went as soldiers. Both felt the urge of
the hour both desired to be stationed where they
could give most serve most. Hence it was not
strange that we reached the Y headquarters in
Paris hoping to be forwarded to some one of the
fighting units, and that during the ten days of
preparation for the camp, we were looking wish-
fully toward the front. Indeed, one of us had
come from Illinois, and had already been adopted
as the daughter of the 370th Regiment. The other
had come from the Metropolis, and somehow felt
the whole responsibility for the welfare of the
"Fifteenth New York" and the "Buffaloes" resting
upon her weak shoulders. It is easy then to im-
agine our disappointment when we were assigned
to the S. 0. S., or Service of Supplies Sector. It
was just at this point we found it necessary as
members of the American Expeditionary Forces
to learn one of the most important lessons of the
army that of obedience.

But it was a most kind Providence that sent us
away from the scenes of devastation and death for
our first service, and placed us where we could
come into a comprehensive knowledge and appre-
ciation of our non-combatant forces. Seven months
of continuous service and daily contact in the
camp with these men warrant our writing with

96

ON THE WAY TO THE DOCKS AT ST. NAZAIRE
SERGEANTS DUNN, TAPSCOTT AND JONES AT THE PORT

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

assurance certain definite impressions left upon
our minds by them. We take it that the 20,000
soldiers whom we served, those visited at Brest and
other S. 0. S. points and those who rested with us
in the Leave Area from Bordeaux, Marseilles, and
other camps were typical of the one hundred thou-
sand or so men who formed the non-combatant
group.

These men were known chiefly as stevedores and
labor battalions. Somehow a widely circulated
report gained credence that they had been
gathered indiscriminately, and had been landed on
foreign soil, a mere group of servants for the
white soldiers. We do not know who first sought
to thus humiliate these soldiers by such unjust
and undeserved rating. One might easily believe,
of course, because of the constantly unfair attitude
of some of their officers toward them, that there was
some such assumption to that effect. But the world
has learned now, that in spite of all handicaps, there
could be found nowhere in the army stouter and
braver hearts, or more loyal and self-sacrificing
spirits. Subjected to a stern discipline; with dis-
criminations, cruel in their intent and execution;
long hours of toil; scant recognition for service
or hope of promotion, they still kept their faith.
Throughout the war they wrought as weavers who
are given to see only the wrong side of the glorious
pattern they are weaving. Indeed, through these
men we came into an abiding belief that the colored
man was in the war to justify his plea for democ-

97

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

racy. The first day we entered that busy military
port of St. Nazaire, we saw a colored lad standing
under the ancient clock in the center of the square.
He had M. P. (military police) on his arm band
in large red letters, and in his hand a stick with
which he quietly directed the tremendous traffic
of that town. Auto-trucks, auto-cars of officers
from the highest to the lowest rank, auto-busses for
welfare workers, sidecars, bicycles, used so con-
stantly by French women as well as men, and the
typical French voiture made a constant noisy
stream. And this colored lad, who had come from
a rural district of the far South, stood there calmly
pointing his stick, now left, now right, or holding
it up in demand for a pause. Surely he was there
by Divine Thought.

^/^he very first group of colored soldiers to leave
for France in the autumn of 1917 were stevedores
and labor battalions. Another group reached
St. Nazaire, by way of Brest, Christmas eve of the
same year. Time and time again in camp they told
us the story of that first winter of hardship. Christ-
mas day found them cold and cheerless, with hard
tacks and beans for their rations. All that winter
they worked, poorly equipped for their severe task.
In the dark hours of the night and the morning,
they plunged through the deep mud of the camp
and city, without boots. On the dock they handled
the cold steel and iron without gloves. But they
were soldiers, and so they worked without com-
plaint.

98

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

When the first American Forces reached the
Continent, the French were calling loudly for help.
All seemed chaos for a little, as thousands of troops
began to reconstruct the ports of France. These
quiet ports, many of them centuries gray, became
centers of throbbing activity. Hundreds of ware-
houses, most modern in their construction, rose as
if by magic. From the south where Marseilles
looks out on the blue Mediterranean, to Brest at
the entrance to the English Channel, our own steve-
dores, labor battalions and engineers, have rebuilt
much of the water front of France, thus making a
real epoch in the history of French navigation.
During the last year of the war, these thousands of
men were at work in the S. 0. S., connecting it
with the great battle front. System and efficiency,
with the greatest possible haste, were required in
speeding the supplies to combatant troops. All of
this these soldiers comprehended and ever they re-
sponded with a decisive and soldier-like spirit.
The incessant tramp of many feet through the city
street, the constant rush and rumble of auto-
trucks kept the camps of these ports closely linked
with the docks.

All who were at work in France well remember
that "Race to Berlin" contest, upon which the last
great forward move of our troops so largely de-
pended. The world looked not only toward Metz
where our great combat army was centering, but
just as often, anxious eyes were upon the rear where
our men were toiling like mad that peace should

99

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

not be delayed through any failure of theirs. With
feverish haste and anxiety they battled with great
bulks of ammunition and supplies. For weeks at
Marseilles, Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, Brest and other
ports they worked with almost superhuman
strength. Those serving these men during this con-
test labored with the same feverish spirit that
possessed the men themselves. How they tried to
cheer, encourage, and entertain our determined
heroes as they contested for the honors! If by
chance you see somewhere a soldier wearing the
emblem of the S. 0. S., with an arrow running
through it and pointing skyward, you will know that
he belongs to those service battalions at Brest who
by their inexhaustible reserves of energy and en-
durance, won in the "Race to Berlin."

Although these men were not called upon to face
the shot and shell at the front, they paid their toll
in death from accident, cold and exposure. No
more at the rear than at the front did they pause
to consider personal danger. They were truly
heroes, carrying not bayonet and gun, but connect-
ing the wonderful resources of their own country,
three thousand miles away, with the greatest battle-
fields the world has ever known.

There went to rest in the land of light and peace
a short time ago, one of the world's poets whose
divinest gift was her great human understanding
and sympathy. Long and well did Ella Wheeler
Wilcox write to lift the souls of men from the
sordid things of earth to the purer realms of sym-
pathetic knowledge and co-operation. She was

100

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

given entre to the heart of the war, and saw the
grim conflict in all its various settings. Riding
along the coast one day, looking out upon the long
lines of warehouses, hearing the hum of the thou-
sands of men at work, she said: "I have gained
with the years a growing appreciation and love for
the colored people, and I have seen nothing in
France finer than the work of the stevedores. I
have written and dedicated a poem to them." That
afternoon, after she had spoken for a few minutes
to the thousands of swarthy soldiers, assembled to
pay her homage, her companion read the poem
as follows:

"We are the army stevedores, lusty and virile and strong.
We are given the hardest work of the war and the hours

are long.

We handle the heavy boxes and shovel the dirty coal ;
While soldiers and sailors work in the light, we burrow

below in the hole.
But somebody has to do this work, or the soldiers could

not fight
And whatever work is given a man, is good if he does

it right.

We are the army stevedores, and we are volunteers.

We did not wait for the draft to come, to put aside our

fears.
We flung them away on the wings of fate, at the very

first call of our land,
And each of us offered a willing heart, and the strength

of a brawny hand.

We are the army stevedores' and work as we must and may.
The cross of honor will never be ours to proudly wear

away.

101

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

But the men at the Front could not be there,

And the battles could not be won

If the stevedores stopped in their dull routine,

And left their work undone.

Somebody has to do this work, be glad that it isn't you,

We are the army stevedores give us our due!"

But this wonderfully revealing poem goes hardly
far enough to give full appreciation of the whole
life of the colored stevedore in France. So often in
addition to this "hardest work of the war," was
added treatment accorded no other soldier. While
white American soldiers were permitted to go
freely about the towns, the great mass of colored
American soldiers saw them for the most part, as
they marched in line to and from the docks. Passes
for them were oftener than otherwise as hard to
secure as American gold. Always they were aware
of some case of cruel injustice for which there
seemed absolutely no redress. We found in our
camp a young college student, who, believing that
war spelled opportunity, was among the first to
enlist. His education placed him at once in the
office of his company, and he went to France a
sergeant. He did not find that war meant for him
what he had dreamed it would, but he kept loyal;
his work commanded respect, and, for a time, all
went well. But a company commander came who
resented the pride of the colored boy, and then
began a series of humiliations that took away rank,
sent him to the guard-house and dock. Retribution
is rather swift at times, and so this officer's down-
fall came soon. He never knew, however, that

102

MEN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST DEPOT COMPANY

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

the fond mother back home was the only thing that
stood between him and death. The young man has
since told us how happy he was to return home with
his honor maintained, rank restored. But in camp
his face hurt us as often as we looked upon it, so full
it was of the endurance of an outraged manhood.

Even a short outing might be robbed of its pleas-
ure. For how well we remember a company that
had been granted a week-end leave as a reward for
exceptional work. They were going to a neighbor-
ing summer resort a miniature Coney Island. It
had been arranged for them to tent on the beach.
Just like children, they made us listen to all their
enthusiastic plans and dreams of this outing. They
went, but came back dumb in the despair of out-
raged truth and justice. A runner had preceded
them, and the French restaurants and places of
amusement had been warned not to receive them,
since they were but servants of the white soldiers.
Later the French knew better, but at that time it
required more time and spirit than this company
had, to convince the French people of the injustice
of it all.

Always there was the knowledge that for them,
loyalty, devotion, and energy, led to no higher rank,
no possibility of promotion. True, orders were
often issued that for the moment, seemed to include
the colored soldier in their opportunity for ad-
vancement, but just as soon as he attempted to
make himself a part of these orders, some subter-
fuge would be used to deny him the privilege of
the army of which he was a part. Well for the

103

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

colored soldier in France, well for all, that he pos-
sessed the far-visioned faith and the endurance of
his fathers!

Another misleading idea relative to the non-
combatant organizations was to the effect that they
were totally illiterate. While the percentage of
illiteracy was high, on the other hand hundreds of
men were of fair intelligence, while other hundreds
had been given fine educational advantages. Not
only could there be found large numbers of stu-
dents and graduates of our colored schools, but
there were many from the largest and best known
universities and colleges of the United States. It
was not unusual to have a man in fatigue uniform,
as his working clothes were called, volunteer for
some needed educational work, modestly announc-
ing himself a graduate of Dartmouth, Iowa, Yale,
or some other large university or college. Two of
the best-trained physical directors of our race were
discovered over there doing their "bit" one as a
stevedore on the dock, the other busily cutting wood
with an isolated labor battalion. For every variety
of profession or trade there was a representative.
One had but to require the service of a stenogra-
pher, dentist, doctor, lawyer, electrician, plumber,
draughtsman, pianist, illustrator, or what not, to
find him at hand. Once in the palmy days of Camp
One, St. Nazaire, an educational exhibit was held
in the Y Hut and it was far more interesting,
varied, and unique, than any one school could have
possibly produced.

104

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Labor battalions were to be found not only at
the ports of France, but more than any other class
of soldiers, they were spread over all France.
Whether near the Belgian or Swiss border, or in
"No Man's Land," one would be sure to find these
indispensable troops. Oftener than otherwise these
battalions would be split, and a company or two
would be at Verdun or some other important center,
while another company would be found in some
woods cutting trees. The 608th Labor Battalion
was the only organization regularly stationed at
St. Nazaire, that had its own colored Sergeant-
Major. So clean cut, intelligent and forceful was
Sergeant Major Thomas, that he might have been
a Major quite as well. His men were much like
their leader, and we found it not only a pleasure
but comfort to count them among "our boys."

At Romagne we worked side by side with the
332nd and 349th Labor Battalions. There with the
Pioneer Infantries, they were grimly fighting
through to the end. To the Leave Area came these
men of the labor units in large numbers, and we
have many pictures of them and with them. We
have, better still, recollections of their faces,
earnest and often sad their eyes aglow as they
related the story of their adventure in France.
Always they had suffered but always they knew

"That Freedom's battle once begun
Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son
Though baffled oft is ever won."

105

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Hundreds of men among these non-combatant
troops were so thoroughly fine that to mention a
few of them in a special way seems hardly worth
while, except as they represent types. We think
of Charles Wright from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who
not only performed his office work with thorough-
ness, but who, through all the long months, first at
St. Nazaire, and later at Camp Montoir, gave him-
self with deep earnestness as a volunteer teacher
for his less fortunate mates. Many others gave
help in much the same manner for the educational,
religious, and athletic activities, or for library or
canteen service. There were Charles Wilkinson of
the Medical Corps, Sergeants Farrell, Dunn, Jones,
Ward, Armstrong and Tapscott, Corporal Henry
Smith, Electrician Powell, all so faithful as to seem
a part of the regular staff of Y workers.

There was one special group within this group
for whom we had great sympathy and deep respect.
They were the regular army men, who had seen
real fighting, who were still in their prime, and
longing for the opportunity to go "over the top."
There were men who had seen service in Russia,
the Philippines, Hawaii, heroes of the Spanish
American War; men who had known the hideous-
ness of Carrizal, all kept in the S. 0. S. But they
were soldiers and they knew how to hold their
peace and obey. One had to but look at men
like Sergeants Blue, Banks, Clark and Dogan, to
know that even without the bars on shoulders, they
were finer soldiers than many who wore them.

106

1. "A Canteen Man." 2. An Old Soldier Sergeant Banks, 10th U. S. C.

3. Playing Ball at Camp No. 1, St. Nazaire. 4. Our Military Policeman.

5. An Electrician.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

These non-combatant troops challenged the very
best in those welfare workers who could appreciate
the tremendous undercurrent of their lives and
their rigid determination to be loyal to the country
they served. Always during our days and nights
with them, the urge and desire to serve was so
keen as to make us forget the loss and strain of
physical strength. Our greatest effort was centered
in keeping constantly before them this truth so
beautifully expressed by James Weldon Johnson:

"That banner which is now the type

Of victory on field and flood,
Remember its first crimson stripe

Was dyed by Attack's 1 willing blood.

And never yet has come the cry,
When this fair flag had been assailed

For men to do, for men to die,

That we have faltered or have failed.

We've helped to bear it rent and torn,

Through many a hot-breathed battle breeze;

Held in our hands, it has been borne
And planted far across the seas.

Then should we speak but servile words',
Or shall we hang our heads in shame?

Stand back of new-come foreign hordes,
And fear our heritage to claim?

No! stand erect and without fear,

And for our foes let this suffice,
We've brought a rightful sonship here,

And we have more than paid the price."

107

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

THE ENGINEERS

No group of men had a deeper baptism of pain
and loneliness in France than the Corps of
Engineers. Although classed as non-combatant
troops, they might, in an emergency, as at Chateau
Thierry, become combatant. There, in the crisis of
a struggle, they dealt the German invaders the
decisive blow that not only sent them reeling to
defeat, but caused the world in general to attach a
new importance and appreciation to the work of
the engineer.

The colored engineers, however, although some-
times trained with arms in the United States were,
for the most part, not permitted the use of them
in France. A corporal of the 546th Engineers
writes, "Although some of us worked quite close
behind the lines, within range of shot and shell,
we did not see arms except such as lay discarded
about the woods and in the fields."

There seems to have been little difference be-
tween the work done in France by the colored
Engineers and Pioneer Infantries. Both were
largely engaged in road building and general con-
struction. However, the non-commissioned officers
of the Pioneers were largely, if not entirely, colored
and in many regiments, they retained their arms,
while the engineers were rarely accorded rank
beyond that of corporal and, as previously stated,
rarely carried arms. But the colored engineers
were a part of that far-visioned phalanx of dark-

108

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

skinned men who went to France to fulfil a trust
and who remained true to the end.

Their work, too, was lightened by their ability to
sing in the midst of thunderous guns. Many of
the war songs were made into parodies of the
shovel which the engineer jokingly made his
emblem. The following is a parody of the song,
"Mother":

"S is for the soup they always give us
H is for the ham we never get;
O is for the onions in the gravy,
V is for the victory we'll see yet.
E is for the end of our enlistment,
L is for the land we love so dear,

Put them altogether, they spell SHOVEL
The Emblem of the Engineer."

Wherever troops were fighting, the engineers
could be found hard by and their faithful and
efficient service won for them praise. For instance,
the 37th who served as a part of a French Corps
and afterwards with the First American Army
Corps was cited for the high efficiency of its work.

The 546th spent many months in various parts
of the forest of the Argonne and were also com-
mended for their meritorious service; the same
might be said of the 505th and many others.

109

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

But viewing their record as a whole we might
sum it up in the following lines of Paul Laurence
Dunbar:

Thou hast the right to noble pride
Whose spotless robes were purified
By blood's severe baptism.
Upon thy brow the cross was laid,
And labor's painful sweat beads made
A consecrating chrism.

110

An Engineers' Camp in France. Representatives of the Engineer Corps.

HOMING BRAVES

There's music in the measured tread
Of those returning from the dead
Like scattered flowers from a plain
So lately crimson, with the slain.

No more the sound of shuffled feet
Shall mark the poltroon on the street,
Nor shifting, sodden, downcast eye,
Reveal the man afraid to die.

They shall have paid full, utterly
The price of peace across the sea,
When, with uplifted glance they come
To claim a kindly welcome home.

Nor shall the old-time daedal sting
Of prejudice, their manhood wing,
Nor heights, nor depths, nor living streams
Stand in the pathway of their dreams!

GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON.

ill

Pioneer Infantries

OTEVEDORES, engineers, and labor battalions
kJ had been rushed to France to blaze the trail for
die American forces. Already the 15th New York,
the 8th Illinois, 371st and 372nd Regiments had
worked and fought their way to the thickest of the
carnage. The 92nd Division was waiting for the
final word that would carry them across. And yet
the twelve million colored people of the United
States had not fully answered the call. None, how-
ever, were more willing to serve the country in
its hour of peril. Therefore there was a ready
response, when late in May of 1918, President
Wilson called for the organization of colored
infantries.

The early history of these pioneer regiments
was very similar. They were formed for the most
part, out of provisional troops, a few men drawn
from the regular army, and specialists from the
various schools of Training Detachments. For
instance, the 805th Pioneer Infantry Regiment was
formed at Camp Funston, of provisional brigades;
twenty-five men of the 25th Infantry, brought over
from Hawaii; thirty-eight mechanics from Prairie
View Normal School; twenty horseshoers and men
skilled in the care of horses from Tuskegee Insti-
tute, and eight carpenters from Howard University.
The best evidence of the high character of the ser-
vice in France rendered by this regiment is the
following:

112

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

January 16, 1919.

From: Commanding Officer, 805th Pioneer Infantry.
To: The Adjutant General, G. H. Q., A. E. F.

Subject: Commendation of Regiment.

1. I feel it a duty which I owe the officers and enlisted
men of this regiment which the War Department has
given me the honor of commanding, to place on record
at General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces,
the enclosed papers commending their conscientious and
intelligent work.

2. The first is a letter from the Chief Engineer, First
Army, regarding the services rendered by the 805th Pio-
neer Infantry in the Argonne-Meuse Campaign, which
began September 26, 1918, in which this organization
participated from October 3rd to the conclusion of the
Armistice. The second is a letter from the Chief Salvage
Officer, First Army, stating that the regiment "by its in-
telligent co-operation and initiative" was of great assist-
ance to him.

3. I claim no credit for myself, but only for the officers
and men to whose energy, judgment, tact and force of the
highest grade, must be attributed any success this regi-
ment may have attained.

2 Encl. C. B. HUMPHREY,

Colonel Infantry, U. S. A., Commanding.

113

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

HEADQUARTERS, FIRST ARMY.
OFFICE OF CHIEF ENGINEER.

November 24, 1918.
From: Chief Engineer, First Army.

To: The Commanding Officer, 805th Pioneer In-

fantry.

Subject: Services rendered during offensive.

1. The Chief Engineer desires to express his highest
appreciation to you and to your regiment for the services
rendered to the First Army in the Offensive between
the Meuse and the Argonne, starting September 26th,
and the continuation of that Offensive on November 1st
and concluding with the Armistice of November llth.

2. The success of the operations of the Army Engineer
Troops toward constructing and maintaining supply
lines, both roads and railway, of the Army, was in no
small measure made possible by the excellent work per-
formed by your troops.

3. It is desired that the terms of this letter be published
to all the officers and enlisted men of your command at the
earliest opportunity.

4. A copy of this letter has been sent to the Chief of
Staff, First Army.

GEORGE R. SPALDING, Col. Engrs.,

Chief Engineer, First Army,
American E. F.

114

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES

HEADQUARTERS, FIRST ARMY,
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SALVAGE OFFICER.

December 17, 1918.
From: Chief Salvage Officer, First Army.

To: Colonel C. B. Humphrey, Commanding Officer,

805th Pioneer Infantry.

Subject: Commendation.

1. I wish to express my appreciation of the very ex-
cellent work done by you and your command, while I had
charge of the Salvage Operations in the Battle Area, First
Army.

2. Your regiment by its intelligent co-operation and
initiative has been of the greatest assistance in carrying
on operations, conducted under very trying conditions.

JEREMIAH BEALL,
Lieutenant Colonel, Ord. Dept.,
Chief Salvage Officer.

HEADQUARTERS, 805TH PIONEER INFANTRY,
AMERICAN E. F.

January 17, 1919.

1. It is with pleasure that I publish herewith true
copies of the foregoing letters for the information of
this command.

C. B. HUMPHREY,
Colonel Infantry, U. S. A.,

Commanding.
Official:
PAUL S. BLISS,

Capt. Inf., U. S. A., Adjutant.

115

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

The 805th had three men at the University of
London during the educational period, Sergeant
Major Marriott, and Sergeants Walter Powers and
Leonard Barnett. This was another testimony to
the worth of its personnel.

The 806th formed at Camp Funston at about
the same time as the 805th, and the 815th and
816th, formed there later, were made up in much
the same way. Twelve hundred enlisted men of
158th Depot Brigade made the foundation of the
802nd Pioneer Infantry, formed at Camp Sherman,
while other groups from the regular army were
disributed through the regiment.

The outstanding characteristic of these regiments
was their rapid mobilization and departure for
France. Very brief, at best, was the training they
received in the American camps. In some instances
it was as highly intensive and thorough as time
allowed. The great mass of these men had known
absolutely nothing of military life six weeks, and,
in some cases, three weeks, before taking transport
for France. But they went as others had gone,
resolute and firm in faith. As they sailed away,
their folk knew that they had given the residue of
their strong young manhood. The last hope of the
colored Americans had been cheerfully placed
upon the altar as their gift. It was their last grim
insistence on the triumph of the Great Cause for
which the race stood so desperately in need.

A wonderful sight were those convoys with their
mighty hosts, as they plowed their way across those
three thousand miles of periled ocean! More

116

GROUP OF PIONEER INFANTRYMEN

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

wonderful if we can really realize that for them
death was ever near, hiding its piratical and cruel
head beneath the waves. Relative to a voyage
across at that time we quote from the history of
one of the regiments the following:

"At least once daily, and often three times, the bugle
sounded 'Boat Call' and thereupon everyone hurried to
his assigned place. Fire drills often accompanied boat
drills.

Each vessel bore a heavy gun astern and howitzers
forward for firing depth bombs. Details were told off
to help serve the guns. During the last four days out
officers were posted alternately with enlisted men on
submarine lookout posts, so that there were five officers,
and five enlisted men continually on this duty in addi-
tion to the regular guard.

Portholes were closed at dusk throughout the entire
voyage and no smoking outside was permitted after dark.
Silence on deck after dark was also prescribed during
the last four days. No bugle calls were permitted during
foggy weather.

Good ships had gone down in the same area and
there were times when there was anxiety. Once a mine
was sighted and passed at about sixty feet. The matter
was flashed to the destroyers who went to the spot and
dropped depth bombs. Two days out word was received
that a submarine had been sighted by a destroyer dead
ahead. At the same time the cruiser signalled and the
whole convoy literally 'went by the left flank.' From
that time on the course was changed every few minutes."

So, not only that regiment but others crossed.
And some others had far more exciting and hazard-
ous times fighting those German sea monsters. On
both sides of the Atlantic there was anxious wait-
ing; and now and then it was useless waiting, for

117

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

as these brave sons journeyed across, some found
their graves in the deep gray fathomless deep.
There white crosses and poppies may not be found,
but resting in that mysterious sea world, new
emblems of honor, beautiful and sparkling, will
decorate them for all time.

We were with the soldiers in France, cut off
almost entirely from the outer world. One morn-
ing the word was flashed through camp that a whole
regiment of Pioneer Infantry had arrived. "What
are Pioneer Infantries?" everyone asked. Many
answers were volunteered but none very satisfac-
tory. This ignorance was not altogether our own
fault. We had heard no mention of pioneers in
those first days of mobilization before we left the
United States. Our "continental editions" of the
New York Herald, London Times, and Chicago
Tribune were just about as meagre of information
as they were of size. True, friends sent us maga-
zines and papers, but in those days they rarely
reached us. So we asked "What are Pioneer
Infantries?"

All were quickly at work preparing to receive
the newcomers. An addition of three thousand men
meant extra work. Reams of paper and thousands
of envelopes had to be prepared for easy distribu-
tion, because writing material was the very first
demand of the soldier landing on foreign soil.
Above all other pressing needs was the need to
write the folk back home that, "I got over all right."
Not only were letters hurried home, but the hands
of the Y folk were quickly filled with messages to

118

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

be cabled. Extra gallons of chocolate had to be
made and canteen supplies enlarged; special "in-
formation bureaus" set up; money made ready for
exchange and other details arranged for prompt
service.

But as we worked we also wondered about these
new soldiers. The word "pioneer" embodied a
wealth of courage and daring, so that long before
the 807th rushed our hut that September afternoon,
we had woven about them all the wonderful dreams
of their achievements at the front that it is possible
for a woman's fancy to fashion. And, although
they never had all the chance we had dreamed for
them, they did not fail us. Wherever an oppor-
tunity challenged them, they triumphantly answered
it, as attested below:

HEADQUARTERS, 807TH PIONEER INFANTRY,

M. T. C. RECEPTION PARK, 714,

Bourg (Haute Marne), France.

A. P. 0. 714.

April 26, 1919.
General Orders No. 2.

1. The commanding officer takes pleasure in publish-
ing to the command the following letters received from
General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces,
relative to participations of the 807th Pioneer Infantry
in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. It is desired that this
order be published to all troops, and that proper recog-
nition of the same be made on all records pertaining
thereto. It is the intention of the Commanding Officer
to present this ribbon when the regiment has again as-
sembled. Service ribbons as prescribed, will be for-
warded as soon as received.

119

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

France, April 19, 1919.

From: The Adjutant General, American 3. 1.
To: Commanding Officer 807th, Pioneer Infantry.

Subject: Ribbons.

1. Herewith is a copy of the order issued at these
Headquarters on the subject of the award of silver bands
to be engraved and placed upon the Pike of Colors of
Lance of the standards of the organizations which have
served in the A. E. F.; even if we get here in France the
prescribed silver bands', it would be impossible to have
the engraving done in time to present them to the divi-
sions entitled to them. For that reason each organiza-
tion is given a ribbon which shows which battle it par-
ticipated in. This ribbon will be retained until the
proper silver band is presented by the War Department.

2. The Commander in Chief directs me to send the
ribbons to you, and to ask you to present them with
appropriate ceremonies to the units for which they are
intended. He regrets that this cannot be done by him
in person.

By Command of GENERAL PERSHING.

J. A. JONES.

France, April 19, 1919.

From: Commander-in-Chief, American E. F.
To: Commanding Officer 807th, Pioneer Infantry

Subject: Battle Participation.

1. Following is a list of battle engagements of the
807th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, during the War with
Germany, including organizations which are entitled to
the silver bands awarded under paragraph 244, Army
Regulations. The ribbons furnished herewith are in lieu
of the bands which will be supplied by the Adjutant
General of the Army later.

120

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

(1) Meuse-Argonne Offensive, France, October 25 to
November 11, 1918. Organization entitled to silver
band: 807th Regiment of Pioneer Infantry.

By Command of GENERAL PERSHING.

J. A. JONES,
Adjutant General.

By Order of COLONEL GARY.

CHARLES W. ROOTH,

Captain, 8Q7th Pioneer Infantry,
Acting Adjutant.

Somehow it seemed difficult for the above regi-
ment and others, whom we questioned from time to
time, to know just why they had been honored with
their name. Many of them had the high hope at
first, as one fine soldier expressed it, that they were
to be trained into the highest type of combatant
troops, who were to clear the way to victory. Their
record is abundant proof that they did clear the
way to victory, but it was hardly as combatant
troops that they won their honors. Although sharing
the general hardships of the front, subjected to
its shot and shell, they had small chance for real
fighting. When the Armistice came several of
these regiments had reached the trenches, and with
another week of war, their story would have been
a very different one.

Most of these regiments as they reached France,
were forwarded to the Haute-Marne Training Area
where they were given short but strenuous instruc-
tions in French warfare. From there they were

121

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

again sent forward, this time to the aid of the
various fighting detachments.

A notable exception to this general disposition
of these Pioneer Regiments was the 809th a
sturdy set of lads from the Middle and Northwest.
They arrived in France in early October, and
almost immediately were ordered to the front.
Investigation showed that this regiment had been
formed about the first of September, sailed the
21st of the same month, and that most of the
men knew very little about handling a rifle. The
order was revoked and the regiment kept in the
rear, most of them being sent to Nantes, where they
remained until the following summer. And yet
this regiment had a larger percent of professional
men and skilled artisans in their ranks than most
of the others. Three of the nine who went to the
University of London were from this organization.
Howard Drew, the world-champion at a hundred
yards, Dismukes, Lyons, Malacher and Charleston
of baseball fame were a part of it. Lionel Artis,
now Y. M. C. A. Secretary at Indianapolis was
one of its fine Regimental Sergeant Majors. An
officer admitted to the men that he had been re-
quested to recommend some of them for commis-
sions, but preferred to keep them to build up the
regiment.

The experiences of these Pioneer regiments in
France, related in their own unique expressions,
would make a volume of much historical value,
rich in humor and pathos. Each regiment held a
certain pride for outstanding qualities peculiar to

122

PIONEER INFANTRYMEN

Sergeants Baylis, Coleman and Freeman.

Sergeant-Majors Long, Armstead and Clifford.

Sergeants Carr and Johnson.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

itself. Very often we found "silence golden" as
we sat in the midst of heated discussions relative to
the merits of these various "8s," as they were
often called, because the regiments ranged in num-
ber from 801 to 816. But we did learn by per-
sonal contact that each organization had its own
distinctive fineness and fitness, and all who served
these men in France will ever count it one of their
greatest privileges as welfare workers.

The first of these regiments to reach France was
the 808th, which landed at Brest September 7th,
1918. There were many men in this group of
superior intellect and character Maurice Clifford,
a teacher of the High School, Washington, D. C.,
and son of Honorable and Mrs. William H. Clif-
ford, was one of its regimental sergeant majors;
Cornelius Dawson, graduate of Lincoln University,
had left his theological course at Philadelphia to
join the ranks. Warwick Johnson of Virginia
Union University fame was one of them, along with
hundreds of others of the same type. These men
were called to help the 12th Engineers in the con-
struction of a narrow gauge railway at the front.
As they worked, shot and shell rained over them.
In their dugouts they were tortured by rats and
"cooties." Small wonder that an officer who had
observed it all should have remarked: "We can-
not understand their make-up, for under hardest
conditions they hold themselves together and are
able to raise a song." It seems after all that only
black folk can interpret the "Souls of Black Folk."
We went to look for the "808" at Dombasle where

123

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

they had their headquarters so long after the war
ended. But they had entrained, and there was
left only the dreary waste and desolation, that
swept unbroken over many a mile, to tell us the
terrible isolation they had suffered in France.

One of the men of the "813" said: "We endured
all the hardships of the front but missed the thing
we wanted most some real whacks at the enemy."
This was no doubt true, for this regiment was really
bombarded from one front to the other until it
reached St. Remy a few miles from Metz. Then
the order came to fight! It was two o'clock in the
morning, and at four they were moving forward.
For two days they were under constant fire. This
regiment held itself with a justifiable pride.
Regimental Sergeant Major W. W. Tyler, fine in
physique, intellect and manners, was a fit leader
and representative of the men under him. Whether
in field maneuvers under Sergeant Major Williams
of the 24th Infantry, or in the office with men like
Jay Dickinson, one was conscious of the high
intelligence of the soldiers of the "813th." We
went one Sunday to visit some of this particular
regiment. At that time it had been distributed on
the various battlefields to assemble the American
dead in cemeteries, and we were visiting the com-
panies at Belleau Wood and Fere-en-Tardenois,
near Chateau Thierry. At these places the men
gathered in the huts to hear a word from the Y
secretaries. Each had received the hearty applause
that only soldiers know how to give. But there was
one young lad in the party, formerly a sergeant in

124

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

the regiment, who had been released to the Y. M.
C. A. for service. It was when he modestly moved
fonvard to say his word that the men made the hut
too small for their outburst. There were yells and
cries for "Sergeant Burwell! Burwell!" until, put-
ting his hand to his mouth, he yelled back, "Fel-
lows, give me a chance!" He stood before them
with a wonderful light on his face, and drove home
plain truths about right living; he told them about
those secret places of reward for the hard things
they were then doing. The men listened to him and
cheered, because they knew that he exemplified in
his own life the message he gave them.

The day was closing at Fere-en-Tardenois and we
went to sit on a log and eat supper out of a bor-
rowed mess kit. It was then two of the fellows
said they wanted to tell us something. This is
what they told us. "We think you might be able
to tell some of the Y men about our condition
here, and they could help change it. We find the
P'rench villagers here have been told we are an
aggregation of diseased men, sent to dig these
graves and bury the dead as a punishment!" It
had been a glorious day, full of the fun and joy
to be found in the midst of our young manhood,
and we had realized all the delightful thrills of
being A. W. 0. L. (absent without official leave).
But now the cloud came as it so often did in France.
We looked out upon the war shattered landscape
about us, and wondered why the spirits of the
thousands of French, who had allowed themselves
to be mowed down in that very place rather than

125

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

surrender the principles of right, did not rise up
to curse this awful wrong. With tears in our souls,
but with brave eyes, we talked to them. We did
tell this case, but the soul that should have been
strong to vindicate them, proved but a weakling,
and the young Y man who made the attempt to help
them, was not only thwarted, but crushed for his
effort.

Several of the Pioneer regiments touched foreign
soil at Liverpool. Some were held there for service
as were some labor battalions. But most of them
crossed England to Southampton and landed at La
Havre. This was the route of the 802nd, who came
largely from West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Making long and exhausting hikes, this regiment
also reached the First Army where it talked little
and worked hard. Says one of the men: "Our
regiment was divided about October 1st into three
sections. The first battalion was given the task
of helping the engineers build a standard gauge
railway from Aubreville to a point north, half-way
to Varennes a distance of ten kilometers. The
second battalion was to connect up with the first
battalion at this point thence northward five kilo-
meters beyond Varennes. The third battalion was
given the task of furnishing rock from the stone
quarries for the repair of the highway. All this
work was highly essential in order to keep the
firing line supplied with ammunition, rations, etc.
The conditions in the sector were at all times most
trying. The men were subjected to bombardment
from enemy long range guns and aerial attacks

126

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

almost daily. But the railroad was completed in
a short time, and supplies were speeding up to the
front for the final drive."

November 18th, seven days after the Armistice
was signed, the entire 802nd Pioneer Regiment was
highly commended in general orders by the Chief
Engineer of the First American Army in which he
declared their services indispensable to the final
drive. We must look behind this record to the
quiet, dignified, but wonderfully alert enlisted men
who made it. The ranking Regimental Sergeant
Major, J. Emmet Armistead, was not only an ex-
perienced army man of spotless record, cultured by
hard study and Old World travel, but a high type
of Christian soldier. Although still young, he
carries the marks of Philippine fighting and is an
expert swimmer, horseman, marksman and athlete.
But one learned this only after many conversations
and gentle probings. This spirit of modesty went
down through the regiment. We think of Sergeant
Toney of Ohio University, Sergeant Kenneth Pack
of Virginia Union University, and many others who
made us conscious of the fineness of the regiment.

No two Pioneer regiments were quite so famed
as hard workers and hard fighters as the 801st and
the 803rd. Both shared the toil and danger of
other regiments, but both seemed to have been
determined to fight for right treatment, although
it meant continuous fighting. At Brest, we saw
evidence of the labors of the 801st in the trans-
formation of Pontanezen from a mudhole to the
cleanest and most modern of camps. These men

9 127

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

came from Indiana and Kentucky, and the regiment
was formed at Camp Taylor, largely of the 157th
and 159th Depot Brigades. The Y. M. C. A. gained
two secretaries from it, Sergeant Majors Eggleson
and Watkins, who gave fine service to their former
comrades. Regimental Sergeant Major U. S. Don-
aldson of this organization was among the brightest
and most popular of the soldier-students who went
to the British Universities.

Of all the Pioneer regiments, we knew the 803rd
best those "terrible" Illinois lads, one thousand
of whom came from Chicago. In fact they were
our own regiment, for they christened us god-
mother with water that flowed straight down from
the far-famed Alps. It was for some of the men
of this regiment that we first cooked sausages and
pancakes in the Leave Area; for its band that we
made our first ice cream there. It was there that
group after group told us of their lonely life at
St. Maurice, Vigneulies, and other points near
Verdun. Afterward, we were sent to serve them,
but, alas, it was too late, as they had entrained.
However, we caught up with the whole regiment at
Pontanezen, and there, instead of our serving them,
they served us. True, we gave them ice cream,
lemonade, cookies, "movies" and books. But
whatever of beauty and comfort came to the Y
hut known as "Soldiers' Rest" at Camp Pontanezen,
was largely due to the energy, time and money in-
vested by the 803rd in its remodeling. From Com-
pany M, with its wonderful sergeants from the
regular army, always alert to help us, we were

128

MEN OF THE PIONEER INFANTRIES

1. Sergeant Sheridan. 2. Sergeant Roach. 3. Sergeant Chapman. 4.
Sergeant Jeton. 5. Sergeant Dawson. 6. Sergeant Gowdy. 7. Ser-
geant-Major Hardy. 8. Sergeant-Major H. L. Coverdale with Sergeants
9. Sergeant Blackwell

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

supplied the finest "detail" for work about the
hut to be found in all France. But the volunteer
details were no less fine, and we can never forget
Taylor and James who constituted themselves our
protectors as well as hut carpenters.

We could fill a whole book with the names of
men of this regiment who throng our memory.
There was Gowdy, Griffin, Williams, Jetton, Sheri-
dan, Harrison and Matthews all soldiers, but gentle-
men first; there was Curtis Kennedy, whose young
face shone as he talked of his wife, mother and baby
back home; there was Sergeant Washington, who
knew so well the value of a balanced menu, and
gave us our best mess in France, then sailed away,
leaving us to our leanest days. But memory clings
closest to the one, who in addition to the loneliness
and hardship of life at the front, had bitter gall
sent him from home to drink. For a time it seemed
too much to endure, and he was ready for the
plunge of despair. Slowly but surely, we drew
that man back from the precipice, and lingered
near till he was on sure ground, and the strength
of the real soldier had come once again into his
veins. What joy to know that for him there is
still the grim determination to walk the better way.

One afternoon, in our hut at the port, a whistle
sounded and a sharp command followed, "All
men of the 804th report to their barracks at once."
What did it matter that the most interesting pictures
imaginable were being passed over the screen*
The "804th," with its plenty of brain and plenty
of brawn who had now and then sent an over-

129

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

bearing military police into deep repose the
"804th," with the isolations and hardships of the
front still haunting it, was going home that July
day. Oh, the gladness of them for this hard-
earned reward! It was so contagious that it filled
not only their souls but those of their comrades
of other organizations, waiting for the same mes-
sage.

Some one said that the order went forth, "only
handsome men for the 806th." Certain it was that
everywhere they went in France one heard their
good looks mentioned. But it in no wise spoiled
them for the immense amount of work they did.
At the front, at Montrichard, at Orley, and last
near Paris, where they helped to build the cele-
brated Pershing Stadium, they carried themselves
with honor. Many of the men of this regiment, too,
sought for training and commissions, but were told
that they were too badly needed by their regiment
to encourage any changes.

The "811th" and "814th" had their regiments
split up from the beginning and used at many
points chiefly in the S. 0. S. We believe that
some companies of the "814th" saw service in
England. These men were rushed across the ocean
at the last moment, but they did great service in
salvaging and reconstruction after the Armistice
came. We recall an amusing incident in connec-
tion with one company of the "814th." It had but
recently reached our area, and was at mess in one
of the huge mess halls, constructed towards the end
of the war. We were bravely plunging through the

130

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

deep mud so common to the camps in France, and
wearing high hoots, the novelty of which had long
since heen forgotten. We were startled by a sharp
whistle, followed by the camp expression "Oo-la-
la!" that brought men and mess kits to the doors
and windows. One exclaimed, "It's a genuine
brown!" while another in most sympathetic voice
added, "And it's got on boots too!" For a moment
embarrassment swept over us, but we knew how
genuine was the surprise of colored soldiers at
first sight of their own women in France, so we
laughed back and waved them a welcome to the
Y hut. From the "811th," Sergeant Ulysses Young
and from the "814th" Sergeant Everett Brewing-
ton, were among those who went to King's College
in England.

We had been waiting among the ruins of Verdun
a whole week, by order of the Regional Secre-
tary of the Y. M. C. A. ; he was trying to convince
the colonel in charge of Camp Romagne that women
would help to better the conditions in that camp.
But the colonel was not easily convinced. He
told us afterward, that it was not colored women,
but just women that he felt should not be
with the soldiers in the camps. "War was stern
and men ought to be hard at such times." He was
not alone in this opinion, for not only did colonels
feel that way, but many soldiers and welfare
workers were of that opinion. However, we finally
rode from Verdun to Romagne in a wonderfully
uncertain Ford, through thirty-six kilometres of
blinding dust that bit and stung for several days.

131

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

But it was all well worth while, for it gave us the
chance to share the life of the 815th and 816th
Pioneers, with the labor battalions who were there
in the camp, and that of some of the companies of
the "813th" who came later.

We reached the camp on Mother's Day, and
as many of the men as could crowd the "hanger,"
as the tent auditorium was called, were there.
After a year among soldiers, we had become
quite accustomed to whistles, calls, applause and
shouts; otherwise the noise occasioned by a woman's
advent among the thousands of men, might have
overwhelmed us, and made it impossible to reach
the rostrum.

The work of these stalwart California lads of
the "815th," and of the "816th," so many of whom
came from the Central West, is told elsewhere in
the chapter Reburying of the Dead. Their record,
with that of the "813th," and labor battalions who
helped at the task, is the most sacred of all the
Pioneer regiments. They were "our boys" at
Romagne, and again at Brest! They were the very
last of the Pioneers to reach France and the last
to reach America again. It was a picture to linger
in the memory, as with packs on back, bags in hand
and heads erect, we saw these men march at the
dawn of the day out of the camp, down the long
dusty road, over the city streets to the waiting
transports. They were not permitted to look to
the right or left, but as they passed slowly by, a
lifting of the eyes, a movement of the hand, or in
some small way, the women who had served them

132

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

recognized through tear-dimmed eyes a warm
adieu.

Those Pioneer regiments, so quickly mobilized to
meet an emergency, were just as quickly demobi-
lized with the return of the men to America. But
the strengthening and unifying processes through
which they passed as a result of the hard work,
hard sacrifices, and in many cases, hard treatment
of the war, can never be demobilized. There will
be little whining from these men who are even
yet Pioneers. But certain of their power of
achievement, keen and courageous for truth and
justice, they will hold fast to their vision of the
future, and with strong, sure hands, build toward
that future.

133

Ye Queens, who bear the birth-pangs of a world,

To whom the nations in this hour of stress,

For succor look, and for the truth to bless,

Ye great, whose fondled darlings, combed and curled,

Are in the shell-torn, shamble-trenches hurled,

To stay the hellish Hun, who else would press,

The cup of degradation and distress,

To lips of men with freedom's flag unfurled

Ye valiant mother-band who gladly gave,

The first fruits of your riven wombs to save,

The world from horrors darker than the grave,

Ye are the Brave, who in your Country's need

Did sow the trenches with your precious seed

The greatest gift of war, and valor's noblest deed.

CARRIE W. CLIFFORD.

134

Over the Canteen in France

PRESS and pulpit, organizations and individuals
were beseeching and demanding in 1918 that
the Red Cross add some of our well-trained and
experienced nurses to their "overseas" contingent,
but no favorable response could be obtained.
Meantime, the Paris Headquarters of the Young
Men's Christian Association cabled as follows:
"Send six fine colored women at once!" This call
came so suddenly that for a while attention was
diverted from the Red Cross issue that had been
so uppermost in all minds.

Six women! A small number to be sure, but
the requirements for eligibility were not so easy
to meet and one must not have a close relative in
the army. Many questions were asked. "Was
there a real need for women over there? "Could
they stand the test?" "Would they not be subjected
to real danger?" "Were not gruesome stories
being told relative to terrible outrages perpetrated
on women who had gone?" To these questions and
others there seemed to be but just one reply. It
was that if hundreds of other women had answered
the call to serve the armies of the Allies, surely
among the thousands of colored troops already in
France and other thousands who would soon follow
there would be some place of service for six
colored women. A few leaders were far-visioned
enough to see the wisdom of colored women going
overseas. Mr. Fred. R. Moore, Editor of the New

135

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

York Age, worked untiringly to help secure the
required number, while Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, Maj.
R. R. Moton, and Mr. Emmett Scott strongly en-
dorsed the sending over of colored women.

Almost immediately Mrs. James L. Curtis and
Mrs. William A. Hunton, were invited to go to
France. Those were the days when sailing dates
were kept secret and orders for departures given
at the last moment. When the first call to sail
came, Mrs. Hunton could not easily be released
from the war work she had undertaken for the
Young Women's Christian Association. But the
following week, Mrs. Curtis, keenly anxious for
the adventure, was permitted to go alone. Mean-
while, Miss Kathryn Johnson had been called from
Chicago, and three weeks later sailed with Mrs.
Hunton.

For all the period of the war and the dreary
winter that followed it, there were just these three
colored women with the American Expeditionary
Forces in France. Time and time again they were
lifted up by rumors that other canteen workers
were on the way. Whenever they saw women arriv-
ing fresh from America, they would at once inquire
if there were any colored women in their party.
Always the rumors would prove false and the
answer negative. Two hundred thousand colored
soldiers and three colored women in France! So
it was for many months. But finally the dream
of help was realized when in the spring of 1919
sixteen canteen workers reached France. Only
sixteen, to be sure, but to the three who had waited

136

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and served so long alone, they seemed a mighty
host.

What a wonderful spirit these sixteen women
brought with them! They had been impatiently
waiting, some of them for many months, to answer
the call. They knew how their soldiers needed
their presence in France so they arrived eagerly
ready for that last lap of Y service, the impor-
tance and significance of which can hardly be
over-estimated. The Armies of the Allies had won
the war, but there was a moral conflict for the war-
weary men hardly less subtle and deadly in its
effects than the conflict just ended. It required a
program of compelling interest to hold the soldiers
against the reaction of war's excitement and
ghastly experiences, and the new thirst for home
and friends. Therefore, the coming at that time
of sixteen canteen workers for our soldiers was
wonderfully opportune.

But just what of the canteen service for all the
months that had preceded their coming? How
had just three of us managed to be mothers, sisters
and friends to thousands of men?

The first colored woman who reached France
had been sent to Saint Sulpice in the great Bor-
deaux area, and though she was quickly returned
to Paris, the few days she had spent in the camp
made a bright spot for the men there in that veri-
table wilderness of hardships. That she made ice
cream and other "goodies" for them, and best of
all, let them open their hearts to her, was never
forgotten by the men of that camp. Reaching

137

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Paris, we found her with a group of men secre-
taries ordered home. It was then that for the first
time we questioned the wisdom of our adventure.
Surely we had not given up home, friends and work
for such an experience! Would blind prejudice
follow us even to France where men were dying by
the thousands for the principles of truth and jus-
tice? There had been no slackening of the impulse
to serve, when as a part of a mighty procession,
we crossed the periled deep; no lessening of our
enthusiasm for war work as we looked for the first
time upon war's dark picture. But somehow this
incident, with its revelation of the fact that preju-
dice could follow us for three thousand miles
across the Atlantic to the very heart of the world's
sorrow, tremendously shocked us in those first days.
But it was a challenge to a heroic sacrifice, and
we realized the significance of the challenge more
deeply as the months receded.

Miss Kathryn Johnson was appointed to Brest,
but that area, too, seems not to have been keen to
the advantage of a colored canteen worker, so that
she was returned to Paris. Both Miss Johnson and
Mrs. Curtis were then assigned to the advanced
sector, but found it impossible, because of the
terrible drive, to reach their posts.

Meantime, Mrs. Hunton had been sent to the St.
Nazaire area, and it is there that our story of can-
teen service really begins, because whatever of
success came to the colored women in France, was
due primarily to the record made by them in this
area.

138

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

The St. Nazaire area, in the region of the Loire,
was more than any other the pioneer section for
colored work. There went Franklin 0. Nichols,
the very first colored welfare worker to reach
France, and there he constructed the first Y hut
for colored men in France. Soon, he was joined
by the Rev. Leroy Ferguson, Mr. John C. Wright
and Mr. William Stevenson, each of whom had
direction of a Y hut in the area. In due time
several secretaries arrived to help these first men.

When Mrs. Hunton reached Saint Nazaire, she
was immediately assigned to Y hut 5, Camp
One, for canteen service under the direction of
Mr. John C. Wright, and to visit other camps of
the area. Miss Kathryn Johnson came next and
/ was placed at Camp Lusitania with the Rev.
Leroy Ferguson. Then came Mrs. Curtis, who
joined Mr. Stevenson at Camp Montoir. It was
thus that the first three canteen workers were placed
for all the period of the war and many weeks
thereafter.

The St. Nazaire area, more than any other in
all France at that time, warmly welcomed and
gave opportunity to the colored Y secretaries to
demonstrate their spirit and ability to serve their
own soldiers. Indeed, it seemed rather provi-
dentially planned to give colored women a first
real chance. There were two reasons for this op-
portunity given them. First of all the broad, prac-
tical Christian spirit of the Divisional Secretary,
Mr. W. S. Wallace, and second the attitude of our
own Y men in charge of the huts. Mr. Wallace

139

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

was not only an executive of rare Christian cour-
age, but his attitude and opinions commanded the
respect of those under his supervision. He dealt
with the colored men and women of his area in the
same fine manner and spirit that he dealt with all
others. We shall always remember him among
those fine spirits of his race that hold our faith
for the ultimate triumph of the brotherhood of
man.

The second contributing cause for whatever of
success the women came to have was in the per-
sonnel of the men with whom they worked. For,
however fine might be the Divisional Secretary or
no matter how far-visioned and energetic the
woman herself might be, she could hardly render
efficient service unless she had the sympathetic
co-operation of her hut secretary.

The writer was most fortunate in doing her first
work with Mr. John C. Wright. It was a rare priv-
ilege that gave us four months of most enthusiastic
service under the direction of this Christian gentle-
man. He was one of the few men who really
desired a woman in his hut, so that in our first
four months of service we were able to plan and
accomplish something really constructive for the
seven thousand permanent colored troops of our
camp, and to help the regiments that spent a few
weeks with us as they prepared for the front.
With him we tried to study and comprehend the
needs and desires of the soldiers, "our boys," as
we usually called them, and to meet these needs
and desires in the very best way possible.

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TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Over the canteen in France was essentially dif-
ferent from the same thing in the United States
where friendships and home ties had not yet been
really severed and war was still thousands of miles
from the camp. In France, war, with its mystery
of pain and suffering, was over all. Everywhere
were evidence of its mutilation and destruction of
life and home. Everywhere there was exhausting
work and deep loneliness. In the most joyous hour
in the Y hut we knew that there was a nervous-
ness, a tenseness, a deep undercurrent of serious-
ness that could be found only in an environment
of death and desolation.

Over the canteen in France friendships and con-
fidences ripened quickly because of the loneliness
of men because of the haunting and yearning
memories of their women-folk at home. A glass
of lemonade or a cup of chocolate offered with a
sympathetic touch was usually sufficient to break
down all barriers and make way for the usual
question, "Where are you from"? This answered,
a like question asked and the acquaintance was
established. Always there was real happiness if
one could from somewhere in the memory resur-
rect a mutual friend in one of these home towns.
Then came quickly talks of family and life in the
States. We learned to anticipate that from some
pocket in the jacket usually the one nearest the
heart would be drawn forth a wallet or a much
worn envelope. From it photographs would come
forth. Sometimes it would be the "best mother,"
again the "dearest wife," and still again the "finest

141

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

girl" or "cutest kid" that a fellow ever had. The
families or the girls would become visualized for
us, and after that we would ask about them as if
they were old friends.

Over the canteen in France, the woman became
a trusted guardian of that home back in America.
To her were revealed its joys and sorrows. Be-
cause of that same loneliness that loss of back-
ground the soldier poured out to the canteen
worker his deepest and dearest memories and
dreams. She must be ever ready to laugh with
him, but she must also be ready to go down into
heart-breaking valley with her soldier boy when
he would get a bad bit of news a mother, father,
sister or even a wife or child might have been taken
away; or, worse still, once in a great while the
tragedy of faithlessness was made known to him.
But by far, the letters from home were cheerful to
have come straight from hearts of women tense with
longing and anxiety. Oh, the pride of a new father!
How well we remember a young "top" sergeant
whom we had thought of as a mere boy. He
walked up to the canteen one evening with the
request that we send a cable home for him. He
wrote the following: "Congratulations on birth
of Spencer Roberts, Junior, and love to mother."
Saying to us, "No matter about the cost, I want to
send it all." How full of love were his eyes as
he showed us the girl-face of that wife, and we
could only say "How perfectly wonderful for the
boy when he grows up! He will know that his

142

SOLDIERS IN FRANCE

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

father was in France at the time of his birth a
soldier in the world's greatest war."

When we established the first wet canteen in the
St. Nazaire area for our own men, we were think-
ing of the real comfort of it to the men. We de-
liberately planned to make our chocolate so good
that they would really come for it and our lemon-
ade real lemonade, and crullers that would "taste
just like home." But we could not even dream
of all that it would mean in cheer, comradeship
and good will. It was pathetic to see long lines
of men patiently waiting for a cup of chocolate
and a cookie to find many coming from distant
camps not alone for the refreshments, but for the
good cheer they found with us. It was a picture
that would have touched the hearts of the home-
folk these men sitting around on the window-seats
or at the tables, hundreds of them quietly talk-
ing and sipping their drink. And the Y woman
would leave her post behind the canteen for a little
and wander from table to table for a word, or
she would drink a cup of chocolate with a little
group while they talked of farming, opening a
store or returning to college after the war. It
was so little and yet it was so much in that every-
day life of war war so terrible so long.

Over the canteen in France meant not simply the
eat and drink of it when rightly interpreted. It
meant that we must not rely alone on the "Movies"
and entertainments sent from Headquarters to the
soldiers but we must supply games, entertain-
ments of our own and even parties. One party

10 143

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

our first was only time in France we believe, in
which we showed the "yellow streak." It was to
be a beautiful party in spite of the fact that but
two women would be present. Two days had been
spent in decorating the hut and stringing extra
lights. Our hut secretary suggested that we put
aside our uniform for an evening gown and lead
the grand march, to which we most enthusiastically
assented. But we were hardly prepared for the
sight that met our eyes as we entered the outer
hut. There were men crowded in every space even
to the rafters more men than we had ever seen in
any one room. It was no use. We just could not
get the courage needed to lead a march, and so we
quietly sat down and looked on that night. How
we used to wish for our home girls in those days!
Oh, if we could have had some of the fine ones
we knew at home to help in those little social
affairs! As we think of this first party, we recall
the last more than a year later in the embarkation
camp at Brest. Not seven thousand men this time,
but probably three hundred, and nine women to
dance with them. We held the watch and there
would be a pause in the music at intervals of three
minutes. That meant "change partners." The
best part of that evening was the fun of securing
a partner without a real rush upon her. Then, too,
hearts were lighter by far than at that first party,
for the war had ended, and the soldiers were simply
waiting for the transports that would take them
home.

With the co-operation of our splendid hut secre-

144

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

tary, Mr. J. C. Wright, we had fitted out the first
reading and reception room for the soldiers in our
area. Other rooms had been open to them, but
this was open for them and others. It was there
that our men loved best to go in the twilight and
evening hour. How quickly they learned to feel
that it was worth while to look spick and span for
such a cozy spot. It was because of this lovely
room with its magazines, books, comfortable seats,
beautiful plants, flowers, and cheerful fire that
many men could endure the months in which
"passes" to leave camp could not be secured. "We
should worry when we have a place like this,"
was a remark often heard in those days as they
quietly discussed this special grievance. But this
room became best known for its Chat Hour that
came to fill it to overflow on Sundays at the twi-
light hour. Somehow it came to us that this was
a lonely time for men. Sunday, just after supper
away from home and no special place to go. So
we discussed it with some of the men and began
with just informal talks on current topics apart
from the war or army. The interest grew. Men
were there from Howard, Union, Hampton, Tuske-
gee, Morehouse, Atlanta, Clark, and other schools,
so we had talks about their institutions and their
founders. We had talks on race leaders, on work
after the war music, art, religion and every con-
ceivable subject. We instituted a question box that
was generally opened in fear and trembling, for
one could never be quite sure of the questions. It
might be, "When will you make us some fudge?"

145

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

or it might be, "Which is the greatest science?" A
question like the first we would answer, while one
like the second would be respectfully deferred
to the hut secretary or chaplain. A cup of tea
or chocolate with a wafer would give the social
side to the hour. It was so much better than
most lyceums and forums we have known here
at home, because somehow it was, as most
things were over there, so much more full of
human warmth. This little Chat Hour started in
a simple way at Hut Five, St. Nazaire, remains
one of its most precious memories, and was
adopted in many other places. When the soldiers,
who were for so many months a part of that hut,
were sent to Camp Lusitania, they carried the
Chat Hour with them, and it was there one of the
finest features of that great camp as it continued to
be at Hut Five even after many changes had been
made.

Over the canteen in France meant much letter
writing and the wrapping and sending home little
presents that had been approved by the company
commanders. At Christmas tide, this involved
many hours of work, as it did always at embarka-
tion time. Frequently the Y woman must go
shopping for her boys to buy not only the pres-
ents sent home, but also the little necessities that the
canteen and commissary of the camp did not have.

How can the picture of Christmas in camp ever
fade away? The Y. M. C. A. was a most generous
Santa Claus in its wonderful trees, decorations and
presents. The hut was full of good cheer, but it

146

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

was also full of memories, and men talked of other
Christmastides back home. More than one fellow
found it made him just too homesick to look upon
the lighted Christmas tree, and yet he wanted it
there wanted that link with his own fireside. He
was glad of the lights, of the music and the romping
Santa who distributed the presents.

Then came the French school children several
hundreds of them, with their teachers, brought out
in army trucks to be the guests of the camp. How
their eyes filled with joyful wonder at the big glit-
tering American tree! How they laughed and
clapped as the men played, danced, and sang for
them! Then they listened in wrapt silence as a
Red Cross lady told them in French about the
American Christmas and its wonderful Santa
Claus. With the native grace peculiar to the
French child they received the presents handed
them by the soldiers, but not trying to conceal their
perfect ecstasy over them or their bon-bons. How
lovely is that fine child courtesy of the Old World!

Somehow one found time for a great many
things in camp, and so between the Christmas tree
and canteen, we had prepared a real Christmas
dinner for the Y men and the soldiers who helped
with the canteen. But the dinner was too much for
one of the soldiers, and he carefully put it all aside
till later. The memory of the past Christmas was
too vivid, when he had just arrived in France, and
had only the cold ground for a bed and cold beans
and hard tack to eat. Before the beginning of
the evening's activities, the hut was quiet for an

147

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

hour, and we sat in the firelight's glow for a
moment of personal thought, on that wonderful
Christmas day! So far were we from home
and friends, yet far keener in human understand-
ing and sympathy than ever before. In so many
thousand American homes there could be no Christ-
mas joy that day, only the memory of the dead
lying somewhere on the cold bleak Western Front.
What could the Christ Child signify at such a time?
Perhaps there in the camp one could comprehend
better than in America that through mighty travail
was being born to the world a New Day in which
men would be conscious of their worth, assured
of their liberty, and learn that right after all
is might.

Over the canteen in France included not only a
cozy reading room and the selection of books for
the men to read, but it meant also, reading to them
or with them in leisure moments. One must help,
too, in educational work. Our first visit to Camp
Lueitania was spent teaching a class in English.
Then came the Y woman to that camp, who gave a
greater impetus to study there than had hitherto
been known. She would spend hours guiding with
her own small, fair hand, those of the men who
for the first time were eager with desire to write
their own names. It was thus, then, these women
worked in the St. Nazaire area at Camp Lusitania
with its emphasis on educational activities; at
Camp Montoir, where the excellence of the can-
teen became far-famed, and at Camp One with its
joyous, homelike atmosphere.

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TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

After four months, a change came over the camp-
life of the area. Mr. Wright returned to America
to take part in the great drive for funds. The
seven thousand stevedores and labor battalions
that we had served with so much joy for four
months, were divided between Camps Lusitania
and Montoir. We saw with proud but sad heart
the 807th march toward the Front. From the con-
stant noise of many feet and voices, we found our
hut reduced to an unbearable stillness and isolation.
The camp was now to become exclusively an em-
barkation and debarkation center. For two days
we were in danger of a good hard spell of home-
sickness and then came the news that there were
transports in the harbor colored soldiers were
coming heaps of them!

We were never quite so glad to see any soldiers
as we were the 809th Pioneer Infantry, and the
33 Lieutenants of the Artillery who arrived that
Monday morning in October. We met them first
as they rested on the beautiful ocean boulevard
of St. Nazaire. Life flowed into us once again as
we flitted among them welcoming them to our camp
and hot chocolate. Even then, many of them
looked very worn and ill, but we hardly dreamed
of the tragedy of that October transport. We were
on our way that morning to the weekly Y Con-
ference with its inspirational and helpful program
that, no doubt, was a large factor in the success
of the area. But the conference seemed very long,
so anxious were we to get to camp. We requested
at headquarters special transportation to speed our

149

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

errands and hurry us to work. Soon we are in
our hut it is crowded men are everywhere and
we look over the crowd and wonder what has hap-
pened. These are not the swarthy lads we were
welcoming on the ocean front only here and
there do we see one. We are still wondering when
a voice close at hand says, "Lady, got any paper
and envelopes?" "Certainly," we say, and then
we begin to meet the first need of the soldiers.
Meantime, we are saying, "No, no stamps neces-
sary turn your letter over to your company com-
mander to be censored." "Oh, yes three-cent
stamp if your folks are in Italy." Later we learn
that many of our own boys have been sent to
another camp, and that most of those in our camp
are in a distant part. We learn something else
influenza is raging hundreds of men have died
on the voyage the hospitals are crowded, so are
the barracks. Sick men could hardly be left in
"pup" tents in the deep mud and constant rain of
that season. That night another change comes over
our hut. On all the benches, in all the corners and
in what had been our cheerful reading room are
sick men, many of them ill unto death. We are
not only preparing hot chocolate now, but all day
long we are preparing lemons, so that at night we
may pass among these men with hot lemonade. It
is a sad time graves can hardly be dug rapidly
enough nurses are scarce every one is doing the
best he knows. True, these are not colored boys
we are serving, but what matters that they are
soldiers all, and every lad of them a mother's son.

150

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

We go to the hospital and move among them. They
can only see the smile in our eyes, for we wear the
white masque across our faces. To the convales-
cent we give cigarettes, literature, gum, and now
and then candy. For the very ill we leave oranges
or lemons. For some there is little need to leave
anything but a prayer.

The following is an extract from a letter received
from a soldier with reference to that period, "It
was in St. Nazaire at Base 101, that I was desper-
ately sick with 'Flu' in October, 1918. Mr. Davis,
whom I had known at Evansville, came through
my ward. Next day you and Miss Johnson came
with oranges and that most prized thing in all the
world at that time lemons. Oh, how good you
did look to me! Then, too, how kind you folk
were when I rejoined my outfit at Camp One. My
mind recalls that Sunday evening 'Quiet Hour'
you held, while we were there. How you spoke
to the boys and urged them to keep themselves
clean for the sake of the good women back home.
Then when you asked us to talk what man could
have kept still." The plague passed, and many a
man was laid to rest having done his bit to the
utmost, though it simply meant breaking home ties
and reaching the port of France. After the plague
had spent itself, we marched one day with a long
line to the American Cemetery, a mile distant from
the town. There, while the day was dying, a Red
Cross Chaplain told impressively the challenge
flung to us by those white crosses upon which we
looked, and that had come so suddenly into our

151

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

little part of that death-ridden country. The
French people brought flowers, the Red Cross and
Y secretaries sang, the band played "America,"
the trumpeter sounded "Taps," the guns rang
out for the dead and then we left them alone in
their glory.

The sixteen Y women who came to France in
the spring of 1919 worked much as the first three
women had, except that they were able to go out by
twos. The first three women had always been in
different camps, each a lone woman in her hut.
There might be a dozen Y women in her camp
but she worked absolutely alone, often her hours
stretching from 9 in the morning to 9 at night
but always it was a work of love. When the
sixteen women arrived, they brought in them-
selves companionship, not only for the soldiers but
for the women already over there. Five of them
went to the Leave Area. Dr. N. Fairfax Brown,
Mrs. Childs and Mrs. Williamson joined Mrs. Cur-
tis at Chambery and Misses Evans and Thomas with
Miss Johnson, who had been at St. Nazaire, joined
Mrs. Hunton at Challes-les-Eaux. Mrs. Williams
and Mrs. Craigwell succeeded Miss Johnson at St.
Nazaire, while Misses Bruce and Carbon went to
Marseilles. First Misses Rochon, Edwards and
Phelps found place with that splendid secretary,
Mr. Sadler, in the Chaumont Area. Misses Saurez
and Turner went to Le Mans. The soldiers
had seen every variety of entertainer sent to
France. They had heard some of the very best
of American and foreign pianists, but none had

152

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

received the ovation from the colored soldiers that
was given Miss Helen Hagan, the only colored
artist sent to France. Everywhere she was received
by tremendous crowds of men with rapturous ap-
plause, and her wonderful talent was never put
to better use nor more deeply appreciated. The
last woman to arrive for overseas work was Mrs.
Mary V. Talbert, President of the National Associa-
tion of Colored Women. We felt deeply honored hi
having her a member of our overseas group. With
Misses Rbchon and Edwards, Mrs. Talbert joined
Mrs. Curtis, who had succeeded Mrs. Hunton at
Romagne. There she won the hearts of the soldiers
completely. They gave her a purse of $1,000 for
the Frederick Douglass Home at Anacostia, which
through Mrs. Talbert's untiring efforts, has been
made a national memorial for colored Americans.
Many changes were made by the Y women in
that last lap of the work. This was caused by the
rapid closing of the various areas and the depart-
ure of the men for the ports. With the close of
the Leave Area Mrs. Curtis went to Romagne.
Miss Thomas and Mrs. Williamson were sent to Bel-
leau Woods, near Chateau Thierry. It was not
lovely like the Leave Area, but living in tents, they
served the lonely fellows who were making the
cemetery there. Their Y hut was only a large
tent, but it was beautiful inside the day we saw it
with plants and wild flowers in profusion and
with one corner equipped as a library. On one
side was the canteen with its ice-cold lemonade
and macaroons. How proud the men were of it

153

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

all and how they worshipped those women! For
the women it was the biggest work they had ever
done.

To Joinville went Dr. Brown and Mrs. Childs,
to serve for many, many weeks the 806th Pioneer
Infantry and others who were building the Pershing
Stadium. For their splendid work there, the men
sang their praises without stint.

General Pershing in commending the splendid
service rendered by the Y. M. C. A. in the Leave
Area, especially commends the work of the women.
While always there was competent French help and
splendid men secretaries came to help in the Leave
Area, for four months almost, Mrs. Curtis and
Mrs. Hunton felt not only the responsibility of pro-
viding the meals served in the two areas, but the
beautifying and housekeeping of the buildings and
constant entertainment of the men. Over the can-
teen in the Leave Area was something more than
the jolly vacation that we worked to make it it
was a time for bracing the morale of the men and
sending them back to camp with hope and cheer,
vision and strength.

Misses Rochon and Edwards in the Chaumont
Area and Miss Evans in the Le Mans Area did what
was known as rolling canteen service for the men.
We have heard the men tell of the first time these
"angels" appeared in their isolated camps. It was
difficult to believe their eyes that American
women of their own had sought them out in those
far-off lonely places, and were actually bringing

154

A. Men in Class Room. B. A Group of Canteen Workers en route

Home. C. Serving at the Wet Canteen. D. "Our Boys." E. More of

"Our Boys" at Brest.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

them good, hot chocolate and other heavenly bless-
ings, but best of all the sunshine of their smiles.

No woman who went to France won stronger
approbation for her work than did Miss Saurez.
When a prize had been offered at Le Mans for the
most homelike and best kept hut, it was this little
colored Y lady who won it.

Over the canteen at Brest meant hut activity
from early morning till midnight. It was a part
of what came to be known as the "Battle of Brest,"
which Miss Watson, the Regional Secretary, de-
clared "Ofttimes more terrible than that of 'No
Man's Land' because less open." Every minute
almost meant keeping men free from the despair
of long waiting and hope deferred. Eight regi-
ments of Pioneer Infantries, three labor battalions,
many groups of casuals and several depot com-
panies were among those whom we bade bon
voyage during our days at Ponlanezen. Here, as
at St. Nazaire, the huts were crowded and the can-
teen lines unending. Men made "seconds," as an
additional helping was called, but rarely unless
they were fortunate enough to slip into other men's
places. Those were busy but happy days at Brest!
The men were not strange, for we had met them in
the Leave Area or along the devastated highways.
We closed our work there so happy that nothing
could take away the joy of it.

Over the canteen in France we learned to know
our own men as we had not known them before,
and this knowledge makes large our faith in them.
Because they talked first and talked last of their

155

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

women back home, usually with a glory upon their
faces, we learned to know that colored men loved
their own women as they could love no other
women in all the world. Their attitude of deep
respect, often bordering on worship, toward the
colored women who went to France to serve them
only deepened this impression. The least man
in camp assumed the right to protect his women,
and never, by word or deed, did they put to shame
the high calling of these women. But they were
intensely human and their longing for their women
showed itself in a hundred different ways. One
night a Red Cross parade on Fifth Avenue, New
York City, was being passed on the screen. When
a group of colored women were shown marching,
the men went wild. They did not want that par-
ticular scene to pass and many approached and
fondled the screen with the remark, "Just look at
them." Mrs. Curtis, in whose hut this occurred,
tells how it brought tears to her eyes. One man
came to us saying, "Lady, do you want to get rich
over in France?" We gave an affirmative reply
and questioned how. He said, "Just get a tent and
go in there and charge five cents a peep. These
fellows would just be glad for even a peep at you."
Another man stood near the canteen one day, but
not in line. He stood so quietly and so long that
we finally asked could we serve him. He simply
gave a negative shake of the head. After several
minutes we said, "Surely you desire something,"
only to be met by another shake of the head. The
third time we inquired he said quietly, "Lady, I

156

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

just want to look at you, if you charge anything
for it I'll pay you it takes me back home."
Hundreds of incidents gave evidence of the love of
these men for their women. Sometimes they shed
tears at their first sight of a colored woman in
France.

We learned somewhat of their matchless power
of endurance and of their grim determination to be
steady and strong to the end in spite of all odds.
We came to know, too, that what was often taken
for ignorance, was a deep and far-thinking silence.
They were sympathetic and generous, often willing
to risk the supreme sacrifice for a "buddie." The
chocolate might be too thin or too thick, but there
was little complaint. On a cold day or after a
hard hike it was just "hot-stuff" gratefully re-
ceived.

We learned to know that there was being de-
veloped in France a racial consciousness and racial
strength that could not have been gained in a half
century of normal living in America. Over the
canteen in France we learned to know that our
young manhood was the natural and rightful guar-
dian of our struggling race. Learning all this and
more, we also learned to love our men better than
ever before.

157

PEACE

Peace on a thousand hills and dales

Peace in the hearts of men
While kindliness reclaims the soil

Where bitterness has been.

The night of strife is drifting past,
The storm of shell has ceased,

Disrupted is the cordon fell,
Sweet charity released.

Forth from the shadow, swift we come
Wrought in the flame together,

All men as one beneath the sun
In brotherhood forever.

GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON.

158

The Leave Area

IT was a master mind that first conceived the idea
of sending tired soldiers away from the shat-
tered havoc of war and the incessant routine of
camp life, to find rest and recreation. The most
beautiful and historic places in France, left un-
touched by battle's fire, were selected and opened
as Leave Areas. Had the Young Men's Christian
Association done no other bit for the American
Expeditionary Forces except equip and maintain
these Leave Areas, it still would have done
a colossal piece of work, fully justifying its
operations in France. It was a work for which
thousands and thousands of soldiers are deeply
grateful. Whatever criticism or prejudice rela-
tive to the Young Men's Christian Association
was in the minds of the soldiers as they entered the
Leave Area, they went away its most enthusiastic
supporters. There, more than anywhere else in
France, perhaps, they had opportunity to see below
the sordid and selfish spirits of individuals who
might unfortunately represent it, to the heart of
the Association itself. They could realize there
that the fundamental principles of the organization
were right, no matter how poorly interpreted
through its workers.

The first of these Leave Areas to be opened was
at Aix-les-Bains in the region of the Savoie.
Savoie itself is one of the most pleasantly pastoral
11 159

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

spots in Europe. The country with its rugged
mountains often snow-clad; its quiet little river-
villages everywhere; its Old World customs, origi-
nal and unique, suggested peace and rest. It was
so near many of the interesting things that men
had read about in history and geography, but
never, for the most part, expected to see so full
of historic associations and traditions that one
could forget for the time the dead cities, villages,
and men strewn over other parts of France. Savoie
is wonderfully exhilarating with its mountain air,
beautiful lakes and medicinal waters of world-
wide fame. Everywhere the eyes roamed, they
rested upon mountains. There were the Swiss
Alps just forty miles to the East, the Italian Alps
the same distance toward the South, and the French
Alps close at hand in every direction. Even before
men left the trains or "side-door Pullmans," as
they nicknamed the freight cars in which they so
often rode, they were filled with the wonder and
charm of the country into which they had come.
For the first time they were finding the real France,
and it was life-giving after dwelling for so many
months in those parts that were filled with evidences
of the enemy's unspeakable crimes.

It was in this region that the first Leave Area
was opened for American soldiers in February of
1918. From that time until June, 1919, from five
to six thousand soldiers came each week for an
ideal vacation. So successful was this Leave Area
region that others were opened at Nice, and many
other beautiful places of Southern France.

160

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

It was at Christmas time of 1918 that the Paris
Headquarters of the Y telegraphed Mr. Wallace,
the Regional Secretary of the St. Nazaire Area,
asking for the loan of Mrs. Curtis and Mrs. Hunton
for six weeks. They were needed to open two
Leave Areas for colored soldiers. One of the
demands of war on welfare workers as well as
soldiers, was that they be ready to "pack up roll"
and move on short notice. So that after seven
months of service at the port, they were to be
moved. Mrs. Hunton desired to go, because for
many weeks she had been serving white soldiers
almost exclusively. They treated her with great
respect and helped her to prepare and serve as
colored boys had done. As they marched away
from camp, they sang for her, cheered for her
chocolate and crullers and left little tokens of
affection, and while she had served them with a
warm and willing heart, always she would be think-
ing, there are only three colored women in France
for all the colored soldiers, and one of them serv-
ing white soldiers. She communicated her feel-
ings to the understanding spirit who at that time
headed the Women's Department of the Y work
in France, and was told to stick to her post and a
change would be made as soon as possible. But
when the time really came, it was not so easy to
go. It meant leaving the thousands of men whom
she had served those first months, and with whom
she had kept in constant touch although they
were in the other camps of the area. There

161

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

was the lovely French family Monsieur et ma-
dame, les deux tantes, la chat blanc et le bon
jardin with whom she had lived for seven
months. She had been worshipped into feeling
a part of all their charming life. But both
Y women reported to Paris .and were ordered
to Aix-les-Bains for assignment. There Mrs. Curtis
was sent to Chambery and Mrs. Hunton to Challes-
les-Eaux. These places had been in operation
since the preceding summer. Colored troops had
already visited there, but now they were to be sent
in larger numbers and those two resorts were to
be used exclusively for them. In the meantime,
Messrs. Stevenson and Sadler were also asked to
report. Mr. Stevenson was assigned to the Challes-
les-Eaux Casino, but Mr. Sadler was unable to get
release from the Chaumont region where he had so
long directed a large and important work. When
we first reached the Leave Area, and for several
weeks thereafter, it was still occupied by white
troops. In January of 1918, with Mr. William
Stevenson as Director and Mrs. Hunton, Directress,
at Challes-les-Eaux, and Mrs. Curtis, Directress at
Chambery, a new epoch for the colored soldiers
on leave began. There, as in other places, the
colored women served alone, endeavoring to do the
work that had occupied a large staff of white
women secretaries. From time to time men
arrived to help with the work until there was a staff
of five men at each place. But in the Leave Area,
more than any other place, much of the work was

162

1. The Village of Myans with Mt. Granier. 2. Dinner on the Grounds
at Challes-les-Eaux. 3. Mr. Stevenson and Mrs. Hunton with Staff, at
Challes-les-Eaux. 4. The Chateau of the Dukes of Savoie at Chambery.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

that for which women are peculiarly fitted. The
Chateau or Casino must be kept clean and sweet,
with cheerful decorations; appetizing menus ar-
ranged; American dishes made familiar to French
help and prompt service given; teas, parties
and hikes planned and still they must have lots
of time left in which the men could talk to them.
But for nearly four months these two women
worked alone, each in her building, until finally
other women arrived and shared the service. Each
week from January until late May, a thousand
to twelve hundred colored troops reached the
Savoie Leave Area, ano$ were divided between
Chambery and Challes-les-Eaux. The men lived
in the many surrounding hotels, but found the
largest part of their life and entertainment with
the Young Men's Christian Association.

A brief description of Savoie, with its leave
centers, will no doubt be interesting, because in
most instances, it was the one bright spot in the
soldier's whole "overseas" life, and because so
much of his pleasure there was derived from the
natural beauty of the country.

Savoie, like Alsace-Lorraine, has been a pawn
in the hands of contending peoples many times in
its history. From French to Italian and from
Italian to French again back and forth it has
passed as the fortunes of war have dictated. With
the division of the great empire of Charlemagne,
Savoie fell into Italian hands. It went to General

163

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Berold of Saxe in 1008 and at that time was laid
the foundation for the royalty that has come down
through the centuries as the House of Savoie, and
of which the present King of Italy is a member.
Since the Treaty of Turin in 1860, Savoie has been
a part of France. This frequent change of govern-
ment has produced a peculiar blending of French
and Italian in architecture and life, and adds
greatly to the charm of the region.

Aix-les-Bains, not only the most important town
of the area, but one of the most famous health re-
sorts of the world, is a striking example of this
blending. French chateaux on the mountain sides
and Italian villas by the lake, give it a charming
setting. In the city itself one is carried back many
centuries by its Arch of Campanus, old Roman
Baths, Temple of Diana, Museum and the Grottoes.

This Arch of Campanus is believed to date to
the third century A. D. Older still are the Roman
Baths that are supposed to have been built one
hundred and twenty-four years before Christ.
This was always one of the most interesting places
to the soldiers on leave. There one sees remains
of the not very ancient methods of these ancient
Romans for bathing, and even the remains of a
large swimming pool. Nothing is more interesting
in Aix-les-Bains than its Temple of Diana, built
probably about the same time as the Roman Baths
and in which is housed the museum. The founda-
tion walls of this temple are more than twelve
feet thick, and the stones are of enormous size.

164

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

In one corner of this old Greek temple is inserted
a Gothic window of interest because of its delicate
beauty and purity of style, but not a part of the
original architecture. The Grottoes, with the three
springs that have defied union, are always a source
of wonder. There are to be found hot alum, hot
sulphur and cold water springs turning out over
two million gallons of water each day. With
lighted candles one follows the many windings and
descents of the flowing waters. It is very hot but
very interesting. One sees the place where some
engineers, two of whom were killed, made an in-
effectual effort to unite the waters of these springs.

From things ancient, we come to look at those
more modern. There are the thermal establish-
ments that have made Aix-les-Bains world famous
as a health resort. We are told that this city,
with a native population of less than ten thousand,
always had within its boundary prior to the war,
about thirty thousand visitors. The sedan chairs
in which the visitors rode about the city are as
numerous as those that are moved up and down
the board-walk at Atlantic City. Many Americans
frequent Aix-les-Bains, and the soldiers were
always shown the chair and bathing apartments
reserved for Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan.

At Aix-les-Bains the Young Men's Christian As-
sociation had its activities in the Casino one of
the most luxurious and spacious places of amuse-
ment on the Continent. With a beautiful garden on
one side and an imposing entrance on the other,

165

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

this Grand Cercle, as it is called, was the Monte
Carlo of France until the war came. It has a fine
theatre, seating a thousand people; a sumptuous
ball-room, grand salon and many other rooms,
beautiful with their mosaics, rich carvings and
stained glass windows. All of these were put to
use for the entertainment of the soldiers.

Chambery is hardly less interesting than Aix-
les-Bains. Surrounded by mountains, with the
cross on Nivolet dominating all the rest, with its
quaint stores, streets and houses, it is indeed pic-
turesque. One follows the rue de Boigne with its
old arcades and beautiful stores from the Fontaine
des Elephants up to the Chateau des Dues de
Savoie. It is an imposing structure with its monu-
ment to Joseph and Xavier de Maistre on the stair-
way. The finest part of this chateau is its chapel
with its remarkable Gothic architecture, ancient
windows and fine paintings. Just across from this
chateau was the Y, a charming building, beauti-
fully furnished and always lively with music and
good cheer. One delighted in looking on the sol-
diers sitting by the open fire in its large, but home-
like salon. Chambery has interesting churches and
parks. Perhaps the most interesting thing con-
nected with this town is the fact that for so long it
was the home of Jean Jacques Rousseau. In what
Americans would call the suburbs of Chambery,
we find the home of this much persecuted poet-
philosopher. It is called "The Charmettes" and is
carefully preserved with its original furnishings.

166

:L__U

1. Secretarial Group at Challes-les-Eaux. 2. The Lady of Myans

"Black Madonna." 3. The Elephants at Chambery. 4. The Cross on

Mt. Nevolet. 5. Statue Jean Jacques Rousseau at Chambery.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

At the entrance is a French inscription which may
be translated as follows:

"Hovel by Jean- Jacques inhabited.

You remind me of his genius.
His solitude, his proudness

And his misfortunes and his folly.
To Glory and Truth

He dared to consecrate his life,
And was always persecuted

Either by himself or by envy."

A word about the Fountain of Elephants because
for the Americans it was the center of the town.
This large white monument with four life-size
bronze elephants surrounding it, is most imposing,
the more so because there is continually pouring
from the mouths of these elephants, streams of
water. This unique monument is in honor of a
noted benefactor of the town Count de Boigne
who spent many years in the Far East. There by
the fountain the little steam tram usually put off
or took on its largest number of passengers. There
the American bands played and the French folk
gathered about them. One would usually say,
"Meet me at the Elephants."

It was at the Elephants that we took the tiny
tram for Challes-les-Eaux, about three miles
away. The Thermal Establishment was inaugu-
rated at Challes-les-Eaux in 1876, and from that
time it was a popular resort for not only were the
waters wonderful for baths, but were valuable for
drink, pulverization, inhalation and gargling. One

167

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

who ever became brave enough to taste them could
verily believe in all their virtues. In addition to
its many beautiful hotels, generally clinging to
hillsides, it had its Casino, too, with restaurant,
ball-room, billiard tables, reading and gaming
rooms. It was here that General Joffre rested after
the Marne. It was this Casino and the five Thermal
Establishments in the midst of spacious grounds,
that were taken over for the Y and to which now
so many happy memories cling. Here as at Aix-
les-Bains, the Thermal Establishments were used
by the soldiers through the morning till noon, free
of all charge to them. What a luxury they were to
the tired soldier who for a long time had known
only the bathing facilities of a camp. Challes-les-
Eaux was admirably located for excursions of his-
torical and scenic interest, affording real whole-
some rest and recreation.

As has been already emphasized elsewhere, the
work of the Y folk in the Leave Area was to see
that the eight days afforded the soldiers there,
should be days full of beautiful recreation with as
little of the atmosphere of camp-life as possible.
There was no "reveille" and no "taps." No one
blew whistles to attract attention. Men ate out
of porcelain dishes and slept on real beds with soft
pillows. Often men declared that they had become
so accustomed to the army bunks that they were
forced at first, each night, to rest a little while on
the floor.

An extract from a report of Mr. William Steven-
son to the Commanding Colonel of the Area will

168

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A, E. F.

give some idea as to the nature and scope of the
Y activities in the Leave Area:

"On the 17th of January, 1919, Mrs. W. A. Hunton
and myself took charge of the Casino here and began
the work which, formerly for white soldiers, had been
carried on by four women and two men secretaries.
When we started, we were given the assistance of one
white (man) secretary. With his help, we carried on the
work until the 30th of February when we received an-
other colored secretary at that time the white secretary
who had been assisting us, was relieved. We then had
three secretaries, including myself. March 5th we re-
ceived another man and March 25th two more came.
April 6th another women came and April 26th, two more
women. However, Mrs. Hunton who had started the
work with me left the first of May for Verdun and Mr.
Bullock who had arrived February 30th, left April 16th
to go to America. At the close of our work, May 24th,
we had seven secretaries four men and three women."

"Our building was opened each morning at 8:45. A
twenty-minute religious service began at 9 A.M. and this
was known as 'Start the Day Right Service.' Breakfast
then began and was served till about noon. This meal
consisted of one of the following meats: sausage, ham,
or chops, eggs, pancakes with molasses and butter, hot
biscuits, crullers and chocolate or coffee. All of this was
sold at cost. Refreshments ice cream, pies, pudding,
cakes and crullers with chocolate or lemonade were on
sale afternoons from four until about 5:30. Free refresh-
ments were served three times a week at night and al-
ways to entertainers and educators, whether from the
army or the Young Men's Christian Association. A re-
ception with free refreshments was always tendered out-
going troops. At many of these we served more than a
hundred men. During each of these receptions a strong
moral or patriotic talk was made by some of the secre-

169

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

taries, and I have seen men go away with tears in their
eyes. A special lunch, at the cost of one franc was put
up for outgoing men, but men without money were often
furnished a lunch just the same as others. Every Sunday
afternoon at four o'clock we served free tea and cake
assisted by the French ladies of the village, who kindly
volunteered their services. This afternoon tea, during
which there was violin and piano music, was always
crowded by the men."

Athletics. Every morning from ten until twelve, ath-
letic exercises, indoors or outdoors (according to the
weather) were conducted and very liberally patronized.
Baseball, Y ball, volley ball and tennis were very
popular; the three billiard tables were always kept busy.
Saturday was given to athletics; that is, the full day.
However, men desiring to go to the Black Madonna, Mt.
St. Michael or the Cascades were always accommodated.

Excursions, Hikes, etc. The following trips were taken :
Sunday, hike to the Black Madonna; about an hour and
forty minutes round trip. Monday, trip to Cat Mountain
and Hannibal's Pass, by tram and on foot; about three
hours' hike. All day trip. Tuesday, trip to Aix-les-
Bains and Mt. Revard; all-day trip, tram and railroad.
Wednesday, Black Madonna. Thursday, hike to the Cas-
cades of Doria, about same distance as Black Madonna.
Friday, trip to Lake Bourget and Hautecombe Abbey; all
day trip by tram and boat. These excursions, hikes, etc.,
proved to ?>e of great value in an educational way. The
men were not only anxious to get the Aix-les-Bains Sou-
venir, which explained the various places and things but
a great many took notes.

Amusements, etc. A band concert was given two to
three times each week in the afternoon in the garden,
and on the nights of the same days a band concert and
vaudeville. Entertainments vaudeville, etc., sent by the
Y, at the beginning twice a week; later, during May,

170

IN THE LEAVE AREA

1. By an old Chapel. 2. En route to Hautecombe Abbey. 3. Playing

Billiards. 4. On the train for Hannibal's Pass. 5. On the Grounds at

Challes-les-Eaux.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

by the Army and the Y, two to five times each week.
Movies, four to six times each week.

Religious, etc. Service every Sunday morning at
eleven o'clock which a secretary, sent from Aix-les-Bains,
conducted. Also a service every Sunday evening at
eight o'clock, which was conducted by the Chaplain.

Educational, etc. A speaker was sent from Aix-les-
Bains once a week, who delivered a talk, illustrated or
otherwise on something of educational value. Also talks
on patriotism, thrift, clean-living, etc., were given by one
of our secretaries to all outgoing troops, and each night
notice of the activities of the week were given, during
which hints on clean living, conduct, etc., were given.

Reception to Civilians. On March 12th a reception
was given the civilians of Challes-les-Eaux. This was
held in the open and the Mayor, by pre-arrangement,
made an address to the soldiers and civilians, responses
to which were made by Mrs. Hunton and your humble
servant, all of which were interpreted. On this day a
band concert was rendered by the 803rd Pioneer Infantry
Band, and the school children, who were brought in a
body by their teachers, were served refreshments.

Photographs. Probably five thousand francs' worth of
photographs of the soldiers in various places and poses,
were taken by special arrangement with as many as three
photographers. All photographs were sold at cost and
the demand always exceeded the supply.

Transportation. In order to prevent the men from
arising at an unnecessarily early hour and for the purpose
of always getting them back in time for the evening meal
we chartered special trams, the cost of which amounted
to between three and four thousand francs. This ar-
rangement, which was put into effect in March, enabled
us to move when we desired.

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TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Food, etc. Besides the secretaries, we had about
thirteen French people, in the kitchen, etc., among them
being a chef, whose special duty was to prepare pastries,
ice cream, etc.

Literature. We had two racks made in which liter-
ature pamphlets, etc., were daily displayed. These were
of a religious, moral, patriotic nature and were very
popular. Outgoing men were furnished with free read-
ing matter magazines, etc.

Information, etc. We had a lady at the information
desk, and a lady in the coat room sewed on buttons and
made minor repairs for the men.

All trams bearing new men were met by one of the
secretaries, who sought out the non-commissioned officers
or men in charge, introduced them to all the secretaries,
and extended, through them, a hearty welcome to all their
men.

Every day when new men came in the hotels were
visited at supper time and announcements of the week's
program made while the men were eating.

Conduct, etc. It was an exceedingly rare thing to
hear any of the men use immoral or profane language
in the building. We co-operated with the military police
in every way possible, even requesting the Mayor to
rid the village of some immoral women. The military
police reported that they had very little trouble with
our men, and the Mayor's letter, together with others
from the various hotel-keepers, etc., is strong evidence
of the truth of their statement.

Conferences. Our ability to do the work we did was
due largely to the fact that every day at noon we held
a conference with all the secretaries, each of which began
with scripture reading and prayer.

Just here it might be interesting to read a trans-
lation of one of the letters written by the Mayor of

172

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Challes-les-Eaux, with reference to colored sol-
diers on leave there. After four wonderful months
in the Leave Area, where we came to know every
variety of colored soldier in France, we were sent
to the devastated area that had been the front.
Just as we were leaving, a messenger met us
at the tram and handed us a letter that was so
unexpected as to surprise us, but of which we
were tremendously proud. It is impossible to
reveal the real spirit of this letter in a translation,
but this letter, similar to one given to Mr. Steven-
son, expresses the feeling of the French people
for our men as they lived in their hotels and moved
in their midst. The following is the letter trans-
lated into English:

The Mayor of Challes-les-Eaux, Savaie, to
the Lady Directress of the Y. M. C. A.

Madame: In the name of the population of Challes-
les-Eaux I thank you very much for the pleasure at your
many entertainments. Give thanks to your very good
amateur artists.

You have won the admiration of the population for
the care that you have not ceased to give these black
soldiers, who are wonderful children, with generous
hearts, a spirit of good comradeship, possessing also a
French trait that of loving and making themselves be-
loved.

Touched by the welcome which is given them, their
hearts are wounded because they cannot fraternize with
their white comrades as they do with us, and they regret
not to be able to express to us more than a promise to
return to France, the country of fraternity.

173

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

We retain the best memories of their sojourn with
us, where no incident has occurred to mar our relations.
We are pleased with their good record.

We ask you to convey the greetings of the people
of Challes-les-Eaux to their dear families and beg that
they will accept our fondest regard and our sympathetic
felicitations.

I wish to render to Madame Directress my perfect ap-
preciation. PERROLIFE, Mayor.
April 27, 1919.

Always the French were kind, courteous and
understanding and expressed again and again their
admiration and sympathy for our soldiers.

Two or three of the hikes taken by our men were
so full of historic interest as to be worthy of a
brief description. None afforded quite so much
fun as that to Mt. Revard. Breakfast at seven and
an eight o'clock start on the little steam tram to
Chambery was the order. At Chambery the train
was taken for Aix-les-Bains. There a half day was
given to seeing the places of interest already de-
scribed, and for lunch. At 12.30 all assembled at
the Mt. Revard station to ascend on the cog railway.
Any description of the ever-changing and widen-
ing view of the ascent fails in its attempt to give a
real idea of the beauty, splendor or majesty of
the scenery as they in turn reveal themselves. More
than five thousand feet the train climbs, stopping
for a moment at two stations where the natives sell
apples and give away smiles and good cheer.

On the top the whole snow-clad Alpine system is
in view. One sees the whole Bernese Oberland sys-

174

IN THE LEAVE AREA

1. Serving Literature. 2. On the Veranda. 3. At Play. 4. In the
Library. 5. At the Cascades after a Hike.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A, E. F.

tern and Mt. Blanc, almost fifty miles away, seems
but a good hike distant on a clear day. But the
real fun comes with the coasting, skiing and other
snow sports for Mt. Revard is snow clad most of
the year. The train descends steeply at many
places, but it has been a rare day that men will
recount to their children and grand-children, so
no one seems afraid. "Overseas" songs in joyful
strain fill the echoing caves and crevices and float
out on the lake as the day closes and the train
returns them to Aix-les-Bains.

Lake Bourget, the largest and most beautiful of
French lakes, offered another happy day. First,
by train to Bordeau or to Aix-les-Bains, thence by
boat out on Lake Bourget. We ride across its
shimmering surface and fathomless depth; moun-
tains surround it on all sides and are reflected in
all their glory on the lovely water of this lake. We
are told that although it is in the region of snow
and ice it never freezes, because of an undercurrent
or springs of hot water. On the mountain
sides, no matter how steep, one sees vineyards
vineyards almost everywhere. Chateaux or
villas lend added charm to the scene. Among these
one sees one called the Maison du Diable house
of the devil with a strange tradition attached to
it. One sees also the Hotel du Bois di Lamartine
so named because it is located in a grove named
for the poet Lamartine. It was there he found
inspiration for many of his poems, including "Le
Lac." The Chateau St. Gilles and the Chateau
Chatillon, in which one of the popes of Rome was

12 175

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

born are also to be seen. But the dominating archi-
tecture of Lake Bourget is Hautecombe Abbey,
with its octagonal towers and many windows toward
which our steamer makes its way.

Hautecombe Abbey was founded in 1125 by
some Benedictine monks who, inspired by Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux, decided to change to the
Cistercian Order. The Abbey has, with the rest of
Savoie, seen many vicissitudes as a result of wars,
but for nearly seven hundred years it remained
in the hands of the Cistercians. When the French
Revolution came, the monks fled and the Abbey
passed into the hands of the nation for a time.
Through all the preceding centuries it had been
the burial place for the House of Savoie. Finally,
in 1824, it was bought at private expense by
Charles Felix, Duke of Savoie, who was also King
of Sardinia. He at once proceeded to have restored
this burial place of his ancestors and to put in
charge again some monks of the Cistercian Order.
Again, in 1860, the Abbey went into the hands of
France, but by special treaty in 1862, it was made
the private property of Victor Emmanuel II and
is now the property of the present King of Italy.

The most historic part of the Abbey is the beau-
tiful Gothic church. Many chapels with massive
tombs of Italian royalty are to be found. Some
of them are of the finest Carrara marble as is also
the beautiful Pieta, by Cacciatori. The dome is
decorated with paintings of great interest and
value. There is a wonderful hand carved organ
and paintings by famous artists over the chancel.

176

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

In every little niche may be seen little statues of
weeping women, some five hundred of them and
all different. Much history, tradition and mys-
tery link themselves to all that one sees in the
church.

Next is shown a Royal Suite that was fitted up
in 1825 for Charles Felix and Marie Christine.
Everything is well preserved. Visitors, and espe-
cially women, are not admitted to the part of the
Monastery occupied by the monks. Each time we
made this trip, we were somehow moved by the
sight of hundreds of khaki-clad soldiers making
their way quietly through this old Abbey.

Every schoolboy has heard how Hannibal
crossed the Alps, so that a day's outing to Hanni-
bal's Pass, although it involved much hiking, was
always a popular one. The men would go by tram
again to the little fishing village of Bordeau on Lake
Bourget, then ascend the Cat Mountain to a pass
that opens into the valley of the Rhone. Standing
among these wonderful Alps a Y man would
repeat the story of the hero of Carthage who, more
than two centuries before the birth of Christ, had
climbed with his army to this Pass and then de-
scended into Italy. He would tell how he suffered
great loss of men and much hardship but how he
was a determined foe of the Romans and so fought
them unto death.

Our own favorite hike was that which took us
southward from Challes-les-Eaux, along the main
road with the mountains on either side and in front
of us past the ruins of a picturesque chapel,

177

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

destroyed by Napoleon Bonaparte when he, too,
crossed the Alps; up the hill to the little village of
Myans resting at the foot of Mount Granier. For
all of the four miles from Challes-les-Eaux to
Myans, the life one looks upon seems to have
moved not one pace forward for many centuries.
Ancient customs in life and houses make up the
picture and yet withal one finds a charming hos-
pitality native to these people so far removed from
the hurry and fret of life. But we hiked those four
miles to visit the Church of Myans with its Black
Madonna that has reposed there for so many cen-
turies, and has become a famous place of pilgrim-
age for many French people. Much of tradition
and history wraps itself around the Black
Madonna. Many years ago a landslide came to
this section. One looks up and sees how absolutely
bare it has left one side of Mt. Granier. We are
told that the landslide destroyed everything except
the church even a part of it was destroyed, but
the Black Madonna and the praying monks at its
altar were not hurt. This Madonna that in all
probability came from Spain, is one of the few of
its kind saved in the general destruction of the
Black Madonnas as ordered by Napoleon. The
Virgin and child are life size and wrought out of
black ebony. Her robe is of gold and on her head
is a crown in which are embedded priceless jewels.
She is very sacred to the villagers and to all of
Catholic faith. One finds there many photographs
and relics left by pilgrims who have come for
healing. But the chief interest to us lay in the

178

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

finely chiseled black faces of mother and child to
whom so many devoutly kneel.

Eight days filled with hikes, such as we have
described, games, entertainments of various kinds
and music always at hand, were usually sufficient
to re-invigorate the soldier and send him away glad
and grateful for abundant life, lovely nature and
warm-hearted friends. The Y folk worked hard
to strike a high note for the future of these soldiers
by teaching them how to rightly interpret and use
their wonderful "overseas" experience.

Just here may we say that with both Mrs. Curtis
and Mrs. Hunton were associated the finest types
of Y men to be found in France. Mr. William
Stevenson, who had done such valuable work at
Montoir, brought to the Leave Area, all his fine
ideals, which, with his hard work and pleasant
manners, gave him great success. Mr. Matthew
Bullock, who had gone over the top with the 15th
New York, because of his football fame at Dart-
mouth, was well known to the soldiers. His strong
helpful personality also counted for much in the
lives of the men who visited the Leave Area. There
was Mr. Henry Dunn who had come over from
the army and who conducted the hikes. We have
never since met a man who was at Challes-les-Eaux
that he has not asked for Mr. Dunn. Messrs.
Watkins and Shockley, just as fine and energetic
and beloved by the men, formed the group working
at Challes-les-Eaux. At Chambery Mr. William
Anderson was not only business manager, but
the sympathetic, understanding friend of all.

179

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

There were also Mr. Scroggins, who hiked with
the men and who will ever live in their mem-
ory; Lieut. Carrie Moore, who having done suc-
cessful boy's work for the International Com-
mittee of the Young Men's Christian Association
in the United States, came over from the army to
give the benefit of his knowledge to the Y in France,
and Messrs. Kindal and Parks, who did such
successful athletic work. All these men gave the
very best in them to the soldiers who came under
their care in the Leave Area.

It was a kind providence that sent Captain
Arthur Spingarn to the Leave Area. The true
friend of the colored people in the United States,
he was no less so as a soldier in France. Thor-
oughly fine in spirit and personality, he was at
all times an inspiration and help to the colored
secretaries working under his guidance.

The Leave Area is but a memory, but it is a
beautiful one, linking thousands of soldiers and
welfare workers in a chain of comradeship that
cannot be broken. It was the mountain of vision
and hope in France for those who reached it. It
was the balm in Gilead.

180

VIVE LA FRANCE

Relationships With the French

THE relationship between the colored soldiers,
the colored welfare workers, and the French
people was most cordial and friendly and grew in
sympathy and understanding, as their association
brought about a closer acquaintance. It was rather
an unusual as well as a most welcome experience to
be able to go into places of public accommodation
without having any hesitations or misgivings; to
be at liberty to take a seat in a common carrier,
without fear of inviting some humiliating experi-
ence; to go into a home and receive a greeting that
carried with it a hospitality and kindliness of spirit
that could not be questioned.

These things were at once noticeable upon the
arrival of a stranger within the gates of this sister
democracy, and the first ten days in France, though
filled with duties and harassed with visits from
German bombing planes, were nevertheless a
delight, in that they furnished to some of us the
first full breath of freedom that had ever come
into our limited experience.

The first post of duty assigned to us was Brest.
Upon arriving there we received our first experi-
ence with American prejudices, which had not only
been carried across the seas, but had become a part
of such an intricate propaganda, that the relation-
ship between the colored soldier and the French
people is more or less a story colored by a con-

182

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

tinued and subtle effort to inject this same preju-
dice into the heart of the hitherto unprejudiced
Frenchman.

We had gone to this city under protest, because
we felt that since there were only three colored
women in France among approximately 150,000
colored soldiers, that our first duty should be to
the men at the front, who were without doubt suf-
fering the greatest hardships. But we were told
that in this city there was a great need, and that
we had better serve out a probation here, before
being sent to the more arduous tasks at the front.

Imagine our surprise, then, at being told imme-
diately upon our arrival, that there was no need
for colored women in that section; that the colored
men were too rough; that they were almost afraid
to locate a man among them, to say nothing of a
woman. We were permitted to tarry, however, a
few days, during which time we discovered a
colored Chaplain, the Rev. L. C. Jenkins, of South
Carolina, who immediately made us welcome, and
arranged for us to talk to his men. They were
much grieved when they were frankly told of the
reputation that had been given them, and assured
us of every consideration and courtesy if we were
permitted to remain among them. Every effort
was put forth to get the office to change its decision
concerning us, but to no avail. In due time, we
made our return trip to Paris.

In talking with the soldiers, however, and ulti-
mately with the French people, we were told that

183

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

the story of the roughness of the colored men was
being told to the civilians in order that all pos-
sible association between them might be avoided.
They had been systematically informed that their
dark-skinned allies were not only unworthy of any
courtesies from their homes, but that they were so
brutal and vicious as to be absolutely dangerous.
They were even told that they belonged to a semi-
human species who only a few years ago had been
caught in the American forests, and only been
tamed enough to work under the white American's
direction.

Another ten days in Paris was filled with more
duties, and more opportunity for contact with the
French people. We met again the first colored
woman to arrive in France, and at her suggestion
and guidance, went to a small hotel in the rue
d'Antin, where very few Americans were located.
Here the proprietor and all his assistants were
smiling and courteous, ever ready to make one
comfortable, and to give all necessary information
and many helpful suggestions.

At this time we were assigned to the 92nd Divi-
sion, in the Haute Marne region, but the great July
Offensive started, making it impossible for us to
get through the lines, so we were told, and we were
finally assigned to St. Nazaire. Here we were
very happy to have the opportunity to go where
we could have the association of our co-worker,
who had gone there as the pioneer colored woman
for that section.

184

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Here, as elsewhere, the French people had been
informed as to the shortcomings of the colored
Americans, and among other things had been told
that they were incapable of becoming officers, and
leading their own people. In October, 1918, thirty-
three colored Lieutenants of Artillery landed at
this port. Upon meeting them on the street, the
writer informed them of this false impression,
and requested them to show themselves in the busi-
ness and residence sections of the city. In one
shop the proprietor immediately turned to a white
officer, and remarked that these men wore the
identical insignia that he had seen on many other
officers, and that he would thank some one for an
explanation. When these same men entered the
French Artillery School, near Vannes, they were
forbidden to attend entertainments where it was
thought they would in all probability meet the
French people.

Literature was gotten out through the French
Military Mission and sent to French villages ex-
plaining how Americans desired the colored officers
to be treated; that they desired them to receive no
more attention than was required in the perform-
ance of their military duties; that to show them
social courtesies not only would be dangerous, but
that it would be an insult to the American people.
The literature was finally collected and ordered
destroyed by the French Ministry. 4

In one city, the soldiers informed us, colored
Americans were confined to certain streets in order

185

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

that their contact with the French people might
have all possible limitations.

Following is a copy of an order gotten out, and
a duplicate preserved:

HEADQUARTERS SECOND BATTALION,

804TH PIONEER INFANTRY,
A. E. F., FRANCE.
WARCQ, FRANCE, March 20, 1919.

Enlisted men of this organization will not talk to or
be in company with any white women, regardless of
whether the women solicit their company or not.

By Order of CAPTAIN BYRNE.
A True Copy,
S/L/D/

This propaganda was spread from the streets of
the large cities to the topmost peaks of the Alps
Mountains, away up among the little shepherd
girls, who knew nothing except what others came
up to tell them. "Soldat noir-vilain," they re-
marked to the writer one day, while she sat down to
gather strength to finish her trip to the little chapel
whose ruins stood on the highest pinnacle; even
their minds had been poisoned with the thought
that "black soldiers were villains."

These little shepherd girls dwelt in a portion of
France that was used for a Leave Area. In the
beginning both white and colored soldiers found

186

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

rest and pleasure in visiting the historic and pic-
turesque region about Challes-les-Eaux and Cham-
bery, but later it was set aside by the Y. M. C. A.
for colored soldiers only. Naturally the inhabi-
tants were much amazed to find that they were not
being molested in any way, and toward the close
of the work the different impressions that were
being gathered by the French people became almost
a constant topic of conversation. The teachers and
proprietors of the hotels came often to converse,
and some of them helped gratuitously in the per-
formance of our duties. Many of the children
came to play upon the lawn of the Y. M. C. A.
at Challes-les-Eaux, where the writer had charge
of the woman's work for a period, and the mayor
came as the official representative of the town, to
assure us of all good wishes and sympathetic greet-
ings ; while the mayor at Chambery gave out a pub-
lic invitation for the colored people to return to
France and become a part of their civilization.

Often the staff of secretaries at Challes-les-Eaux
would be invited to dinner, especially at the
hotel Chateaubriand, where the hostess and her
daughter, dressed and smiling, amidst a bower of
flowers, opened their hearts again and again con-
cerning their entire satisfaction with the conduct
of our soldiers, and how different they were from
their original representation. They had received
instructions before their coming as to just the man-
ner in which they should be treated, but they not
only , found no cause for such instructions, but

187

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

found many characteristics in the colored men
which were a pleasure and a delight.

During the victory parade in Paris, no colored
Americans were permitted to participate, notwith-
standing the fact that numerous individuals as well
as organizations had been cited or decorated for
bravery. This the French people were not able to
understand, but in due time they learned that it was
all due to the American policy of discrimination.
They gradually discovered that the colored Amer-
ican was not the wild, vicious character that he
had been represented to be, but that he was kind-
hearted, genteel and polite. One could frequently
hear the expression, " soldat noir, tres gentil, tres
poli" (black soldier very genteel, very polite) ; this
characteristic appealed greatly to these people who
have always been noted for their innate politeness.

The French women were especially kind and
hospitable to their dark-skinned allies. The writers
had the pleasure of living in one French home for
nearly nine months. Here they were treated with
all courtesy, respect, and almost reverence. One
of them became ill, and was sick unto death for
nearly five weeks, during which time the hostess
called in her own family physician, administered
the medicine, and nursed her as if she had been
her own child.

When the French women learned that the Amer-
icans were trying to control the social intercourse
of their homes, they deeply resented it. At one
time the 92nd Division had issued the following
orders:

188

FRIENDLY INTERCOURSE WITH THE FRENCH

1. Group of Colored Officers visiting French family. 2. Mayor, hotel

proprietors and teachers at Challes-les-Eaux fraternizing with Colored

Soldiers and Y. M. C. A. Secretaries. 3. Group of French Students

taken with Colored Soldiers resting while on a hike.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

HEADQUARTERS, 92ND DIVISION,
A. E. F.

LE MANS AREA, MIENNE, FRANCE.

December 26, 1918.

The special duties with which military police are
charged are,

(A) To insure order and proper behavior by enlisted
men at all times. . . .

(E) To prevent enlisted men from addressing or hold-
ing conversation with the women inhabitants of the town.

(F) To prevent enlisted men from entering any build-
ing other than their respective billets with the exception
of stores, places of amusement and cafes.

By Command of BRIGADIER GENERAL ERWIN.

G. K. WILSON,

Chief of Staff.
Official:

(Signed) EDW. J. TURGEON,

Major, Infantry, U. S. A.
Adjutant.

When this matter came to the attention of the
women of the city, the leaders among them formed
a committee and waited on the French Mission with
the statement that they were mistresses of their
own homes and morals, and knew with whom they
wished to associate, and did not desire American
officers to interfere with their social affairs.

Following is an extract from a letter written by
a French girl to a young man who was located in
the camp where the writer gave her longest period
of service:

189

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

LE GUERANDAIS
ALLEE DES BOULEAUX, LA BAULE.

Dear Mister : October 21, 1918.

Your kind letter was welcome. I understand them
very easily without my dictionary, and I thank you very
much for the kind feelings you express me. Be not
anxious about my health, I have recovered now.

I was very touched by all the sympathy you have
showed me on this occasion, and I was surprised of it,
very agreeably. Thank you for your friendship, I am
happy to give mine in exchange, because I know now
what is your hard condition. I have spoken to white
men, and always I have seen the same flash (lightning) in
their angry eyes, when I have spoken them of colored
men. But I do not fear them for myself; I am afraid
of them for you, because they have said me the horrible
punishment of colored men in America. As I am a
French girl I have answered, "It is not Christian." I
am full of pity for your unhappy condition, more still
when I think you are very intelligent, and you have
quality of the heart more than many white men. . . .

When a colored man goes in the house of a white girl,
the policeman wait for him and kill him when he goes
away! I have thought this way to do is savage, and it
is why I was pitiful for the colored man. But I see you
are not unhappy as I believed, and I am glad of it for
you. . . .

I should like to express you how much I am revolted
of that I have learned of your condition, and how amused
I am to have heard many injurious opinions of white men
upon ourselves, French women! I write you in English
and I cannot express my feelings as well as in French.

Naturally these "injurious opinions" about the
French women were resented, not only by the
women themselves, but the Frenchmen as well.

190

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

The result of this, and other difficulties, was that
two or three months before the American soldiers
were out of France, it became generally known that
the French people were tired of them and wanted
them out of their country. The spirit of dislike
became so great that sometimes French people
were overheard saying that if the American soldiers
had on German uniforms, they could not be told
from the Huns! And that if they were to judge
from their actions it would seem that they had a
desire to treat them in the same manner as they
treated the colored Americans.

After the signing of the Armistice there were
frequent riotings between the American white sol-
diers and the French people. On the first Sunday
in April, 1919, the city of St. Nazaire was changed
from a quiet port city into a tumult of discord,
during which a number of people were killed and
wounded. It grew out of the fact that a white
French woman and a colored Frenchman entered
a restaurant frequented by American officers, in
order that they might enjoy their lunch together.
An insinuating remark concerning the woman was
overheard by her brother, who understood English,
and immediately resented it. The restaurant was
demolished in a free-for-all fight, which grew in
proportions until the French people mounted a
machine gun in the middle of the public square,
to restore order.

In the city of Nantes a colored French soldier
was shot by an American Military Policeman,
under the guise that he thought that the Frenchman
13 191

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

was a colored American deserter disguised in
French uniform.

During the writer's period of service at Brest
there were ever-recurring conflicts, and Camp
Pontanezen was frequently closed and the soldiers
not permitted to enter the city. Some of these were
said to have occurred because of insults offered to
colored Frenchmen. Rumor had it that these riots
always resulted in a number of killed and
wounded.

In order to substantiate our statement concern-
ing these conflicts, we wish to quote from Sergeant
Alexander Woolcott's article in the October, 1919,
issue of the North American Review:*

"Whatever turn is taken by international politics dur-
ing the next two years, whatever the official post bellum
relation between Washington and the government in
France, the degree of understanding and the nature of
the sentiment existing between our people and the French
is going to be of incalculable importance in shaping the
twentieth century. It is going to give the true validity
to whatever doctrine our ministers may from time to
time endorse.

"That is why it is worth while to look back over the
A. E. F., and by so doing, to measure and search for
the causes of mutual rancor which developed between
the French people and our troops the rancor which
broke out here and there in riots, as at Brest; which made
the irritated army of occupation lean over backwards in
their affability towards the Rhinelanders ; which moved
Le Rire to some caustic cartoons at the expense of the
A. E. F.; and which poured into our astonished ports a

* By permission of North American- Review.

192

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

stream of returning doughboys all muttering under their
breaths a disparagement of the 'French Frogs.' 5

"Perhaps it would be well first to consider two rather
fixed delusions on the subject. For one thing, stay-at-
home Americans have, quite pardonably, come to the
easy conclusion that all the rancor could be explained
by overcharging. ... As a matter of fact, the amount
of overcharging was slight, astonishingly slight, when
one considers that there were more than two million
spendthrift Americans in France, far from home, over-
paid, irresponsible, and loose in an impoverished
country. It is against the nature of the French peasant
or shopkeeper to go in all at once for resourceful profi-
teering, just as it is against his nature to part lightly
with a sou on which he has once laid his thrifty hands.
Furthermore, both the French government and the
American Army were vigilant in the matter, so that the
doughboy was not despoiled with half the unscrupulous-
ness that would have been practised among his own
people certainly no more than is the average lot of
the expeditionary soldier, anywhere under the sun. . . .

"Then, too, there was 1 the delusion from which the
French government suffered the notion that the whole
source of bad feeling was the friction between the French
and American staffs. There was such friction, and during
the first few weeks of the Armistice the staff officers of the
Third Army were on edge with irritation at the neighbor-
ing French command. . . .

"I think that if the dislike developed on one side before
the other, the first appearance can be traced to a certain
disdain for the French which the outspoken Americans
were only too wont to display. To the resulting friction
a hundred and one things contributed, of which high
prices constituted the least little things, like the French
truck driver's enraging habit of driving dreamily in the
middle of the road; big things, like the French street
walker's unprejudiced habits of accepting the Negro's at-
tentions as affably as a white man's"

193

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

It is interesting to note the comment of an Eng-
lish paper upon the mutual rancor which so unfor-
tunately developed, and which must have some
bearing upon the future relationship between the
French and the American people. The following
significant excerpt is from the London Saturday
Review of June 28, 1919:*

"No one at this or any other time should write, or
even say things likely to create international ill-feeling,
but facts' will not be ignored. There are indeed certain
truths, which, like mushrooms, grow best in the dark. It
is not only absurd, it is also in the long run contrary to
international good will, to ignore the fact that Americans
are not as popular in Paris to-day as they were twelve
months ago. There can be surely no harm in discussing
publicly what everyone privately knows. . . .

"At the present moment the Americans are regarded by
the ordinary Parisian as a barbarian nation, and the
prospects of beholding them rejoice on July 4th, possibly
on a large scale, already fills him with apprehension and
disgust. The nation which a year ago was the most
popular nation in Europe, has become in Paris a burden
almost too grievous to be borne. The other evening we
heard a lady whose profession brings her into rather
close contact with the American soldiers and minor diplo-
matists in Paris, proclaim amid general assent, that the
Americans are at the best children and that at the worst
they are brutes. We are not subscribing to this opinion,
we are merely recording that it was passed. The Amer-
icans could not avoid being unpopular in Paris. The
mere fact that they came late into the war, and that the
importance of their share in the peace negotiations is
out of all proportion to their sacrifices, is in any event
a difficult matter to discount or obscure. . . .

* By permission of The Worlfs Work.
194

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

"Socially the Americans in Paris are in the position
of a man staying in the house of a friend, and forced to
behave much as though the house were his own. It is
even worse than that. We have to consider that the
man who thus stays in the house of his friend, and
behaves just as though it were his own, has in effect,
a mortgage on the house. We are most of us the debtors
of America, and France not least of all. The American
army in Paris may almost be described as the man in
possession, and there is no possibility of avoiding him.
It was an unlucky decision to make Paris an American
military headquarters. The wild west sprawls in the
restaurants, and patrols the grand boulevards. The
American army could no more be popular in Paris than
the Canadians could be popular in Epsom. When on
top of the military invasion of Paris there came an
American delegation 1,400 strong, filling the air with
principles and viewpoints, and amusing itself loudly and
continuously, not the most civilized president in the
world could quite cover with his professional mantle
the nakedness of his countrymen.

"All of this would be of merely passing interest were
it not for the peculiar position which America will occupy
for the next thirty years. What is happening in Paris
will happen on a large scale in Europe as soon as peace
is signed. During the war America has become the
creditor of the civilized world. Her chief problem will
be how to spend the money she has made. She is so
rich that she has begun to be alarmed for her foreign
trade, for it is impossible for Dives to trade with Lazarus
unless Lazarus can be induced to borrow the necessary
capital to set himself up in business. Whatever ultimate
arrangements are made it is fairly clear that America
will have more money than she knows what to do with,
and that Europe will be, to an extent unknown before,
an American playground and Europe will hate it to-mor-
row as Paris hates it to-day."

195

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

For a period of time many of the colored fight-
ing troops were brigaded with the French troops,
which brought them into very close contact with the
French life. As has been noted in another chapter,
four regiments, those that were to have composed
the 93rd Division, became a part of French Divi-
sions of Infantry. It is interesting to note that by
far the greatest majority of colored soldiers or
organizations that were cited or decorated for
bravery were these troops, and that the decorations
were with few exceptions French and not American.
It is also interesting to note that the regiment from
Illinois, under command of colored officers, was
awarded 30 Croix de Guerre decorations for
officers, and 38 for non-commissioned officers and
privates, while only 3 officers received the Amer-
ican Distinguished Service Cross, and 19 non-com-
missioned officers and privates. These colored
officers have many happy recollections of the over-
flowing appreciation of the French people.

Certificates of good behavior secured by these
troops show that the towns and villages through
which they passed or in which they were billeted
found no cause for complaint; that they came in
an orderly manner and left in the same way. The
same can be said of the thousands of labor troops
and engineers who built the roads, unloaded the
ships, laid telephone wires, built warehouses, and
handled supplies.

Finally, we can happily say that it was a pleasure
to note that the relationship between the colored
American and the Frenchman grew in cordiality

196

1. French Sergeants fraternizing with Colored American Sergeants.

2. and 3. Colored Soldiers and the French children. 4. Two colored

Sergeants visiting in French home.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and friendliness until a strong, and we hope, last-
ing bond was established between them. They
were made welcome guests in the homes of the
wealthy and cultured, as well as in the most
humble. The understanding ear of the colored
man seemed attuned to the French language, and
he learned more quickly than others, it seemed,
how to converse with this romantic people. The
French people are affectionate and demonstrative,
which corresponds to the deep emotional spirit
which seems the heritage of the colored American.
The colored soldiers were naturally musical, and
many of them sang with a wonderful penetrating
pathos, or with notes that brought forth joy that
was unconfined; others were talented and accom-
plished pianists. These things appealed deeply to
the artistic soul of our French comrades.

The variety of color among them interested the
Frenchman much as the light and shade in a pic-
ture, or the coloring in the drapery in his store
windows, or in the birds that flitted about in his
mountain fastnesses. He admired the way they
fought, and the way they performed without mur-
muring their tasks at the dock, on the railroads, or
in the warehouses. He loved them because they
did all these things with a song of joy, though per-
haps with a crucifixion of spirit; and with all
earnestness and genuine desire he invited them to
come again, that the relationship thus begun might
grow in strength and beauty and mutual helpful-
ness.

197

Take fast hold of instruction, let her not go: keep
her; for she is thy life. Proverbs 4:13.

198

Education

r I "'HE chief educational work to be done among
A the colored troops overseas was that of teaching
them to read and write, as large numbers were
unable to sign the payroll. These men were drafted
into the army often without regard to age or
physical fitness. One man from Texas, upon de-
livering a company of men to a lieutenant whom
he thought to be white, remarked that he had
brought him a good bunch of Negroes, and had
plenty more down there if he wanted them. At
first, he said, they took all the men who had just
purchased little farms, so that the property would
soon return to the original owners, and then they
just went out through the country and gathered
them up everywhere, so that they could get their
full quota without sending their white boys. Of
course, he said, the Negroes didn't know any better
and just thought they had to come.

This shows the dense ignorance that existed in
no small degree among them, and many of them
knew only one name, didn't know when nor where
they were born, and couldn't tell the time of day.
This ignorance was not all confined to the colored
men, however. One white captain remarked pub-
licly that he had white men in his battalion who
were equally ignorant, and that upon asking one
man where he was born, his reply was "Toons
County," which was the limit of his knowledge
concerning the matter.

199

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

In Camp Lusitania, St. Nazaire, France, there
were 9,000 colored stevedores, and out of this
number 1,100 could not write their names, and a
large per cent, of the remainder had only mediocre
training. On the other hand, some were college
graduates and undergraduates, and were of great
value to those who undertook the task of teaching
the large number of illiterates. They readily vol-
unteered their assistance, and took great pains with
their unfortunate comrades, helping them in school
and out to get the amount of training that the
limited facilities offered.

The writer, during her nine months' period of
service at Camp Lusitania, gave most of her time
to this kind of work, and while it was difficult, the
gratitude of the men fully compensated her for
all the trouble. Upon first entering the camp, there
was no provision made to assist in reaching these
men, or ascertaining who they were. The Y. M.
C. A. had furnished a large number of books,
which were piled away in the hut unused. These
books were taken and a request made at the cinema
for all who desired training in English to manifest
it by remaining in their seats at the close of the
show. In this way we were able to reach a large
number, and through them others could be reached,
so that in time the work grew until the writer's
entire time was consumed in teaching and directing
the work.

One man told how his parents had died when he
was quite young, and that he was afterwards bound
out to a white family to herd cattle for fifty cents

200

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

a week. He wanted to go to school so badly that
he slipped off and went two days, when the man for
whom he worked found it out and beat him so that
he never went back any more. He said he had a
wife from whom he had not heard since he had
been in France, but that he couldn't read her letters
anyway, and he was not expecting her to write.
He worked very hard, however, and in time was
able to write well and read third grade reading
matter. One day he came in joyfully and said he
had written his wife a letter and had gotten a reply.
This, no doubt, was a wonderful day in his life,
when he had acquired sufficient knowledge to make
himself understood in a written communication.
At times their gratitude was most pathetic, and one
man had tears in his eyes as he told the writer how
he had been so anxious to learn, but had been
ashamed to let her know that he couldn't write
his name, and had hesitated a long time before
he finally decided to come.

To learn to write one's name seems an easy
matter, but some of these men would try patiently
for an hour or so and the letters would have no
form, nor resemble in any way the characters they
were trying to make. Then the instructor would
take each great rough hand in her own and help
the soldier to trace the form of the letter so that
he would get an idea of how to go about making
the first curve of his initial. When he would
finally master the first initial of his name he would
be so delighted that he would go to his barracks
and make all the boys whom he knew give him

201

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

assistance, so that in a day or two one could realize
that he was making splendid progress.

This kind of work went on without much diffi-
culty until the Armistice was signed; at this time
every soldier became doubly sure that he was going
home "toute de suite" (at once) ; and to add
impetus to an already bad situation, their colonel
got up in the auditorium and told them that they
would all eat Christmas dinner at home. This
completely demoralized the work until after the
holidays. By this time they had all concluded that
they were going to remain in France a while any-
way, and some began to say that they would be
glad if they were able to eat dinner at home the
next Christmas.

By the beginning of the new year the army
decided to take a hand in the educational work,
and through its chaplains force all illiterates to
attend school. This brought the entire 1,100 at
Camp Lusitania to the Y. M. C. A. hut to receive
instruction. All of them could not be reached at
one time, but two or three hundred could be
crowded into the class rooms twice a day, so that
every two days the entire number would be reached.
The writer would teach them en masse, first from
the blackboard, having them follow her in sounding
the letters, pronouncing the words, and giving the
diacritical markings; then from a small booklet
called "English Reading Lessons," provided by
the Educational Commission of the Army and
Navy Y. M. C. A. These booklets, containing
twenty lessons drawn from the soldiers' experience

202

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

in routine camp life and drilling, would be fur-
nished by the hundreds, free, so that every man
could have a book. After they had all read the
lesson in concert, the volunteer teachers, about
twenty-five all told, would each address himself to
a group of the men, and hear them read individu-
ally. In this way each man could get a small
amount of individual attention.

One day, by some means, Mr. Ferguson, the hut
secretary, found a French mimeograph machine at
the Y. M. C. A. warehouse. It was the only one,
it seemed, in the entire section. The writer, after
many trials and failures, learned to use it, and with
the assistance of Private Stokes and one or two
others, was able to make a large number of copies
of written sentences. These would be taken by
Chaplains Hodges, Jefferson, and their assistants,
including Reverend McCoomer, whom the army
had appointed to do educational and religious
work. They would be distributed among the men
in the class room, pencils given them free, and
every man would labor earnestly to learn to write ;
then the men would be permitted to take the copies
to their barracks, where they would practice during
their leisure moments.

The mimeograph was also used to furnish prob-
lems in numbers to the men who were learning
to make figures, add and subtract. After having
a lesson from the blackboard, they would take the
papers to their barracks, solve their problems, and
bring them in the next day for correction. Mr.
Julius Rosenwald visited Camp Lusitania during

203

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

the year, and left two hundred dollars to be used
for the benefit of the soldiers there. An automo-
bile school was finally established and a number
of the soldiers took advantage of the training. In
the white camps much industrial training was
introduced, and no small amount of attention given
to higher education as well.

The Y. M. C. A. made ample provision for the
purpose of giving the soldiers the opportunity to
learn French. French professors were employed
to visit each hut at stipulated hours, where the
men would be taught en masse, the rudiments of
conversational French. Small books published for
the express purpose were put without cost into the
hands of each man who had a desire to learn, and
very few of them could be found after a few lessons
and a little contact with the French people, who
could not readily make themselves understood with
regard to small matters that concerned their every-
day life.

About the first of April, 1919, the Army de-
cided to take over the entire educational work of
the Y. M. C. A., and invited the educational secre-
taries, the writer included, to leave the organiza-
tion and come over to the army. It promised to
carry out the original contract made by the Y. M.
C. A., and give them the rank and uniform of an
officer. Eight colored men accepted this offer and
went into the army. They were Mr. J. C. Wright,
formerly of Tuskegee Institute, Mr. F. 0. Nichols,
of Philadelphia, Mr. Benjamin F. Hubert, State
College, Orangeburg, S. C., Mr. William Nelson,

204

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

A. & T. College, Greensboro, N. C., Mr. Joseph L.
Whiting, Tuskegee Institute, Mr. Thomas Clayton,
Piqua, Ohio, Mr. W. H. Crutcher, A. & M. College,
Tallahassee, and Mr. George W. Jackson, Louis-
ville, Ky. Of this number Mr. J. C. Wright was
appointed Supervisor of Instruction for colored
troops and Lecturer in Civics; Mr. F. 0. Nichols,
Lecturer in Civics, and Mr. Benjamin F. Hubert,
Supervisor of Agricultural Instruction among the
colored troops.

These men were attached to the staff of the Uni-
versity of Beaune. As Supervisor of Instruction,
Mr. Wright was well qualified, being a graduate of
Oberlin College, Dean of Tallahassee Normal
School, and having done splendid work as a Y. M.
C. A. secretary at Camp One, Hut 5, St. Nazaire.
Here he found a large number of men from the
301st Stevedore Regiment, one of the largest mili-
tary organizations in France, and among them the
first colored American soldiers to land on French
soil. About 30 per cent, of these men were illiter-
ate. On the contrary, a number of them were
college trained men, having been engaged in pro-
fessional and business pursuits.

Mr. Wright undertook the task of preparing
these men to go back to civilian life with at least
the rudiments of an English education. His first
method was to get men who could not read and
write to voluntarily attend classes scheduled at the
Y. M. C. A. hut; but this was quite a difficult
matter, for after ten or twelve hours' work on the
dock, the men were usually too tired to do anything

205

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

that was not compulsory. Then he succeeded in
getting it made a military duty for all men who
could not sign the payroll to attend class three
nights in a week for a certain period. This plan
was successful only to a limited degree, as com-
pulsion was left largely with company com-
manders, who were not entirely in sympathy with
the idea. They contended that the army was no
place for a man to make up for his lost school
advantages, and some said it was too much to re-
quire such a duty of tired, hard-working troops;
but too anxious and determined to be discouraged,
the effort was continued, and after much advertis-
ing and several large public meetings held in the
interest of the work, there were over five hundred
men who enrolled for class work. Of this number
328 were actually taught by volunteer teacher-
soldiers. One sergeant compelled the thirty illiter-
ates of his company to attend school every night
there were classes being taught; and after eight
weeks all but nine could sign the payroll, and many
of them, men still in the morning of their manhood,
received such an inspiration as to give them a
desire to enter school after their return to the States,
and it is known to be true that some of them are
at this moment enrolled in different schools and
receiving instruction.

Mr. Wright, together with his colleagues, Mr.
Nichols and Mr. Hubert, as members of the staff
of the University of Beaune, were sent out singly
and as a team to lecture and hold institutes in the
different sections of France where colored troops

206

COLORED MEMBERS OF ARMY EDUCATIONAL CORPS AND
SOME UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

1. Captain D. K. Cherry. 2. Secretary Walter X. Nelson. 3. Secretary
William H. Crutcher. 4. Secretary Benjamin F. Hubert and group of
students in attendance at Universities in Paris. 5. Secretary Joseph
L. Whiting. 6. Secretary George W. Jackson. 7. Secretary John
C. Wright.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

were located. It is estimated by them that they
reached as many as twenty thousand men, and im-
pressed them with the importance of community
co-operation and collective effort in bettering the
conditions in the neighborhoods where their civic
lots would be cast; also with the importance of
buying land and taking advantage of the industrial
opportunities which the war had brought about.

The other five members of the colored army edu-
cational corps did local work. Mr. J. L. Whiting,
who had formerly been educational secretary at
Camp Montoir, near St. Nazaire, and who had al-
ready done splendid work, went back to his original
field of labor. Here in September, 1918, he began
with an enrollment of forty, in classes in reading,
writing, arithmetic, and civics. By April, 1919,
the enrollment, with the assistance of the new com-
pulsory rule of the army, had increased to 868,
with 19 soldiers detailed to assist in the work. He
found that there were more than 1,000 troops
below the fourth grade, who would be glad of an
opportunity to attend school, and that there were
in every company of colored troops as many as
30 men who were unable to sign the payroll. Mr.
Whiting accomplished wonderful results in spite
of the handicap of no books, no suitable accom-
modations, and for a considerable time no regularly
detailed teachers.

He set writing copies for all of these men with
his own hand, taking their work home each day and
reviewing and criticising it. He held classes in
the mess halls, many times cold and damp and with

14 207

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

no lights except that which could be gotten by the
use of candles ; and by the close of the work he had
not only done much towards wiping out the X (his
mark) sign from the payroll, but had given them
sufficient foundation for the acquiring of a fair
education.

Mr. George W. Jackson had been assigned by
the Y. M. C. A. to be Educational Director at Is-sur-
Tille. Here he found about 15,000 colored sol-
diers hailing from Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia,
Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisi-
ana and Texas. They were S. 0. S. troops, work-
ing just back of the combat area. Mr. Jackson was
returned here by the army to complete the work
started by the Y. M. G. A. During his period of
service here he learned that about 2,500 of the
colored soldiers had very limited education or none
at all. With the assistance of detailed tutors he
was able to eliminate 90 per cent, of this illiteracy
in about three months. Most of them learned to
sign the payroll after about three weeks' instruc-
tion, and by the time they were demobilized fully
one-third had written letters to their relatives at
home. Classes in secondary and college subjects
were also held, in addition to instruction in French,
bookkeeping, current topics, and the Bible.

Mr. Thomas A. Clayton was secretary in charge
of the educational work at Camp Ancona, near
Bordeaux, where on January 10 an Army Post
School was organized. Of 6,987 men in camp at
this time, 1,378 could not sign the payroll; 1,457
had had four years' schooling or less; 584 had

208

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

attended high school, and 137 had attended col-
lege. By the close of the work 367 illiterates had
learned to write their names. Classes in French
and the study of the history and literature of the
French people were also organized, and became
very popular among the soldiers.

Special attention was given at this school to the
teaching of agriculture. A Farmers' Institute was
held, which had a total attendance of 18,000 in
three days. The meetings were held under the
auspices of Dr. H. Paul Douglass, of Syracuse,
N. Y., and farmers' clubs were organized and a
special instructor given them. In all classes, in-
cluding primary and elementary subjects, there
were 503 students enrolled.

Mr. W. H. Nelson had been doing educational
work at Brest under many handicaps. For a long
time they were unable to get a Y. M. C. A. hut
completed. In December, 1918, the writers of
this volume went up from St. Nazaire to visit them.
They found the staff of two secretaries and a chap-
lain struggling along as best they could, with no
floor in a large part of their building and no lights
except what could be produced by the use of
numerous candles. They were very happy to see
some colored women, and brought us a bountiful
supper from one of the company kitchens. This
we ate from a small, bare table, by the light of one
or two flickering candles. Then the writers were
placed upon a box to elevate them a little, while
they talked for the encouragement of the soldiers
who gathered in a small room, which afterwards

209

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

became the school room. The little force of secre-
taries was badly discouraged because they were
unable to secure the facilities that had been given
to other huts, but by dogged determination they
finally succeeded in finishing a beautiful building
which was kept immaculately clean in spite of the
fact that they were never able to secure any women
secretaries. To this place Mr. Nelson was re-
turned after he became a member of the army edu-
cational corps, and continued his work of teaching.
He had about 1,000 illiterates in the camp whom he
attempted to reach. Of this number a total of
372 actually received valuable training.

In addition to the army's taking over the entire
educational work of the Y. M. C. A., it provided
means by which a limited number of graduate
students would have an opportunity to attend the
great universities of France and England; at the
same time it established the American University
for undergraduates at Beaune, Cote d'Or. This
school provided facilities for training in all college
courses as well as vocational and technical subjects,
and brought over from the States a corps of the
very best instructors that could be secured. It
also utilized much of the splendid ability already
in the army. The French Minister of Education
loaned the school a corps of experienced French
teachers, who were supplemented through the
courtesy of the French Minister of War.

Post and Division Schools were established in
connection with the university, the purpose of the
Division School being to accommodate all who were

210

STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

1. J. Douglass Sheppard. 2. James L. Moran.
4. Ulysses S. Young. 5. Henry L. Marriott.

3. E. M. Brewington.

- o- -. ry L,. Marriott. 6. Walter A. Powers.

7. Milton F. Fields. 8. Ulysses S. Donaldson. 9. Leonard Barnett.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

not qualified to enter the university proper. Here
were taught vocational courses and academic and
commercial subjects of high school grades. The
Post School was composed of those who needed
elementary training in English, arithmetic, and
citizenship and of men who were unable to read and
write the English language. Special provision was
made for a Post School for colored soldiers with
colored instructors, but it never materialized. To
attend the university came 120 colored soldiers
who matriculated in the College of Arts and Let-
ters, Agriculture, Science, Journalism, and Music.
Colored American soldiers from all parts of
France made application for admission to the
Foreign Universities. In some places they were
told that colored soldiers were not allowed to
attend, and every effort was made to get the young
officers of the 92nd Division out of France before
they could make application for the coveted privi-
lege and thereby embarrass the army. 6 We have
learned of only one whose application was not re-
fused, that of Capt. D. K. Cherry of A. & T. Col-
lege, Greensboro, N. C., who attended the Univer-
sity of Bordeaux. Several non-commissioned
officers were admitted, however, and in the Univer-
sity of London nine matriculated Corporal James
D. Sheppard, Peoria, 111., Engineering; 1st Sergt.
Leonard Barnett, Fleming, Ohio, Psychology, Eng-
lish, and Methods in Education ; Ulysses S. Donald-
son, Terre Haute, Ind., English Literature; 1st
Sergt. W. A. Powers, Xenia, Ohio, Music and Phi-
losophy; 1st Sergt. E. H. Brewington, Salisbury,

211

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Md., History and Literature; Sergt. U. S. Young,
Madison, N. J., Philosophy and Psychology; Sergt.
Milton F. Fields, Des Moines, Iowa; James L.
Moran, Lancaster, Mass., Astronomy, and Henry
0. Mariott, of Boley, Okla.

Four entered the University at Bordeaux, one the
University of Toulouse, one the University of
Marseilles, and seven the different universities in
Paris Charles S. Wilkerson, Phar.D., Pittsburg,
Pa. ; Charles A. Johnson, Phar.D., Columbia, S. C. ;
Oscar S. Johnson, B. S., Louisville, Ky. ; Thomas
Williams, Phar.D., Patterson, La.; George Wash-
ington Mitchell, A.B., Marshall, Tex.; Clarence
Glead, Phar.D., Lawrence, Kan., and Mr. McKen-
zie, a lawyer from Richmond, Va.

Mention should be made also of the Army Candi-
date School at Langres, France. The school was
located at Fort Dela Bonnelle, and 62 non-com-
missioned officers representing all the colored com-
bat regiments in France were enrolled there. Of
this number, one sergeant died, two became ill at
examination time, and 56 received commissions.
This was the best record for the proportion receiv-
ing commissions of all the 17 platoons represented
there. Of this number all whose initials ranged
from A to D were sent to the 370th Infantry; the
others were distributed throughout the 92nd Divi-
sion. The 325th Signal Corps Battalion attended
school at Gondricourt, and made one of the best
records of any battalion from the standpoint of
hardworking students and improved efficiency,
while the five colored company officers of the 167th

212

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

F. A. attended school at La Cortrine, and the
colonel in charge of the school reported that they
made the best record for studiousness and work
accomplished in a period of two weeks of any
American units in a given length of time.

There were other schools where some colored
soldiers secured training in wireless telegraphy
and other technical subjects, and 33 2nd lieutenants
received instruction at the French Artillery School
at Vannes. While visiting that city during their
period of training there, the writers were told by a
French general with whom they conversed while
waiting for a train, that these men all showed
superior mental capacity, and were much loved
by all the French citizens because of their splendid
behavior and gentility of manners.

Another phase of educational work among the
troops was the developing of libraries. In this
work the American Library Association was the
moving spirit. Thousands of volumes of books
were contributed to this Association by the Amer-
ican people, and the Y. M. C. A. acted as a medium
by which they were placed within reach of the
soldiers. This offered a special opportunity for
colored welfare workers to give another kind of
training to soldiers that thousands were unable to
get in their home cities. In very few cities in the
South are any library facilities provided for the
colored people. They are not permitted to go into
the public libraries, and only a few cities have
colored Branch Carnegie Libraries, such as Louis-
ville or Houston, or a colored library established

213

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

through other channels such as the one in Guthrie,
Oklahoma. As a result, thousands of men coming
from the South had no training in the use of libra-
ries, and special attention had to be given every-
where to instituting and teaching booklending
systems; otherwise all books would have disap-
peared in a day or two, not to be read always, but
to be utilized in various and sundry ways such as
a hiding place for letters, or a pad upon which to
write. In time they all learned, however, to bor-
row and return books in a given time, and the
library soon became the most popular place about
the hut. It was always kept warm and attractive
and it was the only place about the hut where one
could make himself comfortable in an arm or
steamer chair. Through the generosity of the
American public, magazines and periodicals be-
came plentiful after the Armistice was signed, and
the soldiers would tarry late, often until taps,
before they would tear themselves away from the
news item which brought such interesting infor-
mation from home.

Large and valuable libraries were established
for the colored soldiers at Camp Lusitania, and the
Embarkation Camps at St. Nazaire, in the Leave
Area .at Challes-les-Eaux, at Camp Romagne, at
Camp President Lincoln, Brest, and at the two
colored huts at Camp Pontanezen, and were of
invaluable service in educational and cultural work
among the soldiers. Through these channels and
the opportunities offered through the different
Y. M. C. A. and Army Schools, the colored men

214

1. Library at Camp Lusitania, St. Nazaire, France. 2. Colored College

Students at University of Beaune. 3. Colored Students in Farm School,

University of Beaune.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

received a new impetus and a new vision, and with
the assistance of the training that comes from
travel and contact, have returned to their homes
better equipped for citizenship and future service
to their race than they possibly could have been
otherwise through all the years of a lifetime.

215

"They said they were too slow, too dull, too this and

that to do it,

They couldn't match the method of the Hun,
And then to arm a million why, the land would surely

rue it

If a million blacks were taught to use a gun.
But right won out, and they went in at all detractors

smiling ;

They learned as quick as any how to shoot,
They took the prize at loading ships, and riveting and

piling,

And trained a thousand officers to boot.
And when they went they took a boon no others had

been bringing,

For whether with a pick or with a gun,
They lightened every labor with a wondrous sort of

singing,

And turned the pall of battle into fun.
0, the Frenchman was a marvel, and the Yankee was

a wonder,

And the British line was like a granite wall,
But for singing as they leaped away to draw the Kaiser's

thunder,
The swarthy sons of Dixie beat them all."

LESLIE PINCKNEY HILL.

216

The Salvation of Music Overseas

THOSE who know the native love and ability of
our race for music will not marvel at the state-
ment that colored soldiers sang, whistled and
played their way through the late war. There
were days of hunger and thirst; days full of
deathly fatigue; days filled with the dense smoke
and deafening uproar of battle ; days when terrible
discriminations and prejudices ate into the soul
deeper than the oppressors knew. But through it
all there was salvation the salvation of the music
that welled so naturally in the souls of the colored
soldiers. In the midst of the French the artistic
temperament of our soldiers found a warm wel-
come and a favorable atmosphere in which to un-
fold and find full expression; and, although it
manifested itself in many ways, it found no other
realm half so alluring as that of music. Individu-
ally and in groups, colored soldiers gave them-
selves to the enjoyment or serious study of music.
In the hut the average life of a piano was but of
short duration. Every moment from early dawn to
late night, this instrument was in constant use.
One became so accustomed to its continuous sounds
as to be unconscious of them. We returned to
America hoping that for the remainder of our
lives we might be spared hearing any form of
"Blues," for whatever else he might play, a fellow
would finally finish with a touching rendition of
some one of the many "Blues."

217

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

There were melodies of joy and melodies of
sorrow. We heard our soldiers on the coast of
France chanting in unfailing rhythm as they un-
loaded the great cargoes from America. We heard
them in Southern France singing in joyous abandon
as they sailed Lake Bourget, ascended Mount
Revard or hiked up to Hannibal's Pass in the Alps.
We heard them in the night watches at Romagne
as they tenderly reburied their comrades who had
fallen on the fields of battle. We heard them at
the port again, as they looked longingly towards
America and sang, "There's a long, long trail."
Ever in our ears will we hear the harmony of those
thousands of voices as they were blended in song
for religious service, for the speed of work or
for mere pleasure. Always this music breathed a
wistful poignancy, but always it breathed, too, the
matchless will and spirit of the race who sang.
Nothing strengthened more the bond of loving sym-
pathy that existed between the French and colored
American than this musical temperament. Our
bands played their way into the very souls of the
French.

And these bands that always filled us with mar-
tial pride and dispelled all fear and dread! We
think of one night in our camp. The 807th
Pioneer Infantry would entrain on tomorrow for
the front. Under its enthusiastic and highly pro-
gressive bandmaster, Lieutenant Vodrey, this regi-
mental band was giving its last show. Hundreds
of black and white men filled every inch of the
spacious hut from floor to rafter. In the front rows

218

1. Lieut. James Reese Europe and Men of the 15th New York. 2. Band

Master Oliver Mead. 3. Band of the 815th Pioneer Infantry, with Men

on leave, at Challes-les-Eaux.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

sat the regimental officers, camp officers and French
friends. All eyes centered upon the stage where
either the orchestra of fifty men was playing or
Opal Cooper was singing in the sweetest and most
expressive tones, or the men were demonstrating
by act or stunt their wit and humor. The hut
rang with applause or laughter all that wonderful
evening. Fun and merriment ran high during the
rather ambitious hut reception given the band after
that evening's entertainment, for they were trying to
eat salad and sherbet without the use of forks and
spoons which they had been told to bring but had
quite promptly forgotten. It was rather difficult to
realize that tomorrow those men would be facing
toward the thundering guns at the front. We heard
of the 807th band again and again as it won honors
in France, playing before the crowned heads of the
Allies; of their band leader making an enviable
record at a French band school, and finally we
met them again at Brest. There, with a pardonable
pride, we bade them bon voyage as they returned
home triumphantly bearing their laurels.

The fame of Europe's Band, -as it was familiarly
called, spread over all France as well as America.
One single occasion on which we were permitted to
hear this band in France is worthy of note. We
had been honored as delegates to the Conference
of Allied Women held in Paris in August, 1918.
The program, the delegates, entertainment, every-
thing, including the garden party tendered by
President and Mme. Poincare, the afternoon
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt,

219

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

*

Jr., and the banquet at the Palais d'Orsay had quite
won our hearty interest and admiration and we had
reached the final and crowning session of the
Conference. The great Theatre Elysees was
crowded, although the lights were yet turned low.
Someone informed us that the orchestra in the pit
was composed of colored men. Immediately we
came to our feet. Try as we might we could not
see the men, but the leader, Lieutenant Europe,
sat elevated, and so we recognized him. In spite
of the addresses by great personages, in spite
of the royal opera singer and the wonderful chorus,
for the remainder of that evening our thoughts
centered themselves about this band of colored
Americans playing before the elite of Europe and
America. It was a significant moment when, with
a great martial note, this band of the 15th New
York Infantry began the French National Hymn,
summoning the great audience to its feet as
President Poincaire and party entered their box.
Time and time again the playing of these colored
Americans thrilled the house into rapturous ap-
plause. After the audience had been dismissed
and the lights again turned low, admiring friends,
among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Theodore
Roosevelt, Jr., stood by and the band played on
lingeringly and tenderly as if somewhere voices
were whispering that it would be one of the last
great triumphs of its famous leader.

Music was one of the chief attractions furnished
by the Leave Area for the tired, depressed men who

220

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

were sent there for rest and recreation. There came
the 803rd Pioneer Infantry Band under the capable
direction of Sergeant Major Bailey. These men
gave us so much joy and entertainment in their
playing that not only did the Y make efforts to
have them retained permanently in the Leave Area,
but the French people were quite as eager to
have them, and showered praises and flowers on
them when at last they were ordered back to their
regiment.

Then came the 815th with their fine Western
pride and spirit playing their way, too, into the
heart of the Area. We met them again at Romagne
when, with the band of the 816th Pioneer Regiment,
they were playing daily to counteract the depress-
ing influences of their surroundings. We stood near
them and watched with tear-filled eyes as they paid
their humble homage on that memorable thirtieth
of May when General Pershing had come to dedi-
cate that largest military cemetery. We were
with them again at the Port of Brest where, with
their wonderfully stirring music they, too, fought
in that battle for morale. We learned to know
them well those California lads and to love
them.

No finer men went to France than the men who
composed the 802nd Pioneer Infantry, and that
may account for the really high quality of the work
of its band. No band seemed to adhere quite so
closely to classical selections, and they would most
naturally draw the French to their feet whenever

221

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and wherever they played. While resting in the
Leave Area, they graciously gave us several con-
certs.

We followed the history of the St. Nazaire Band
with a certain pride and interest because, in the
early days when we entered that town it was a
small struggling group with but few instruments,
the sounds from which can be but faintly described
by the word horrible. It was encouraged by the
Young Men's Christian Association, who gave it
a thousand dollars for instruments and music. We
watched this band grow and lose its crudeness with
almost incredible rapidity, until a year later, when
it visited the Leave Area, it was our joy and pride.
It is sad to record that at the very zenith of popular-
ity, its history was saddened by the sudden and
tragic death of Sergeant Stevenson, the assistant
bandmaster, who fell from a pole at Chambery.
Again the beautiful French spirit was demonstrated
by the populace of the town in a mass of floral
offerings at the funeral of this soldier. Always
with the French it was "Wos fleurs et nos coeurs."
The writer shall always have a peculiar remem-
brance of the St. Nazaire band, for at the time of
the signing of the armistice she had succumbed to
a serious illness as a result of overexertion. For a
day or two the outer world was rather vague to
her consciousness, but she was brought back when
the band passed the house playing with full tone
and complete abandon "Over There." Looking
into the face of her associate she learned that the
armistice had been signed and that this playing

222

1. Bugler Hamilton White. 2. Band Leader Wm. Bailey. 3. Sgt. Jefferson,

Saxaphonist. 4. St. Nazaire Band. 5. Band of the 802d Pioneer Infantry.

6. Band of the 803d Pioneer Infantry.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

was but an incident of the jubilation that had been
in progress for several hours.

The Regimental Band of the 805th Pioneer In-
fantry was organized very late, but it became
famous overnight, especially at Chateau Chehery,
near Grand Pre. The Regimental Headquarters
were in the famous and beautiful Chateau de
Chehery, and there the band entertained the French,
British and Americans of high rank who were con-
stant visitors.

The story of the 808th band who had the honor
of playing for President Wilson as he sailed home
from Brest in June, is best told by one of its mem-
bers who wrote this letter while they were in
France :

"When they left Camp Meade the watchword was 'Over
There,' and as the band of the dashing 808th Pioneer In-
fantry played that tuneful strain upon leaving the good
old United States of America, they gave courage and cheer
to the three thousand boys in line, and filled the hearts
of wives, sweethearts, mothers and friends with that kind
of spirit which wins wars an unbreakable faith. But
I am to tell you of these boys 'Over There' and I am to
get my story from the spontaneous expression of boys
who just needed a strain of some good old 'rag' or
quaint Irish ballad to spur them on to the next town
or a beautiful symphony to lull them off to sleep as
they lay in pain on their cots.

"This band of colored musicians has indeed upheld
the tradition of its race, for their music contributes much
to make the name of the 808th Pioneer Infantry popular
at the front. To begin with, they are right at the front
being only a few kilometers behind the line, and although
in danger of attracting the attention of hostile forces,

15 223

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

they realize that the spirit of the boys must be kept
cheerful and refreshed. So, often they assemble in a
well protected spot and play for the constant line of
khaki as it moves along the road toward the enemy. And
how those boys enjoy the music only they can tell. But
from the quickened step, the straightened shoulders and
the whistling and singing, one can really feel the re-
freshing and satisfying effects of the band. When the
band stops playing, however, there is no question as to
the appreciation of the music, for from hundreds of
throats comes the cry, 'Carry On!'

"There is small wonder, though, that these boys have
developed into such a well-balanced band, for when one
meets the 'Chief,' as he is familiarly known among his
fellow officers, the reason is easily explained. With a
natural talent for music, the 'Chief combines years of
training as bandmaster and leader. It was he, Lieuten-
ant James E. Wheelock, who brought to the Carlisle
Indian School athletic prowess which struck terror in
the hearts of all followers of the pigskin in the East,
and he also developed the Carlisle Indian School band
into one of national repute, so now it is he, realizing the
power of music, who adds his talent and leadership to
the one great end. I must not fail, however, to give due
credit to the boys under his brilliant instruction. Natur-
ally gifted as musicians' and with deep love for it, these
colored boys have developed into a respected organiza-
tion, and with a realization of their power, they have un-
hesitatingly given their services where they might cheer
some homesick boy or ease the pain of those suffering
from wounds of battle. Transported in trucks through
mud and rain, they have gone miles to play in hospitals
and rest camps, and have brought to our nurses some
little respite from the constant cry of pain.

"These boys have also developed other features which
bid fair to permit them always to retain a warm spot in
the hearts of the boys of the American Expeditionary

224

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Forces. Could you but hear Terry and Bloxson pull off
their skit entitled 'Sick Call in the Army' in that dis-
mantled stable which the fellows have the nerve to call
a theatre, or could you hear the melodious string quar-
tette, or a beautiful saxophone solo, or the sweet voices
of the band, you, too, would do as the hundreds of boys
do who crowd that place every Monday jump to your
feet crying 'Carry On!' Let us thank these boys and
Lieutenant Wheelock for their unselfish spirit."

Other regiments, combatant and non-combatant,
had their bands that won honor and praise in the
same way as the few did with whom we had per-
sonal touch, and then there were great numbers of
singers and shows. In any camp an impromptu-
musical program was not far to seek.

But everywhere the music of the colored soldier
was a faithful index of the spirit behind the song.
There might be heard painfully monotonous or
sombre chords but wait a little and the atmos-
phere would change. There would come creeping
into the music aspiration and elevation. Always
the psychologist could discern the sorrow, pain and
rebellion of souls that suffered unjustly, but always
he would also discern through the exaltation and
nobility of the music that its fundamental basis was
faith and vision.

225

Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Matthew 28:20.

226

Religious Life Among the Troops

A LTHOUGH the church as an organization and
-* as the most direct exponent of the Prince of
Peace, had no part in the welfare work during the
war, yet it was the contributing and inspirational
force behind the organizations and individuals who
played such an important part in the developing
and the maintaining of the morale of the soldiers
of the American Expeditionary Forces. The chap-
lains were direct, but not official representatives of
the church, while the Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A.,
the Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army,
and the Jewish Welfare Board were direct out-
growths of the church or religious spirit in Amer-
ica ; and while the great war was apparently a com-
plete and tangible evidence of the failure of Chris-
tianity among Christian nations, still there was
abundant manifestation everywhere that within the
hearts of men there was a deep and abiding faith in
the great Ruler of the Universe, and a certain con-
viction that the great world cataclysm was a result
of the dogged and persistent determination of the
peoples engaged therein to ignore the principles
in practice that they had so loudly preached to the
world.

Although to some it was tremendously puzzling
that a great human machine that had been built up
for the purpose of killing men, should at the same
time set agencies into operation to teach and preach
the doctrines of Christ, yet they were willing to

227

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

overlook the seeming paradox and gather in large
numbers to hear the gospel, to study the Word
itself, to pray, and not least of all, to sing as only
dark-skinned Americans can sing, either the won-
derful spirituals that were born of the travail of an
oppressed and bleeding people, or the more stately
hymns and songs that were published in a million
gospel song books that were distributed throughout
the American Expeditionary Forces.

The Y. M. C. A. had a regularly organized re-
ligious program which it put into operation with
more or less success; it secured the services of
Dr. Henry Churchill King, President of Oberlin
College, as Director of the Religious Department in
France. He had offices in Paris, and a large field
force to put into operation his plan of carrying the
gospel to the soldiers. Evangelistic singers and
speakers traveled from place to place talking and
singing to the soldiers as they congregated in the
Y. M. C. A. huts. There was a religious director
also for every region, who kept in direct touch with
the work of religious secretaries who were supposed
to be stationed at each hut. The personnel of the
colored welfare workers, however, was so limited
in number that there were not enough religious
secretaries to supply the demand; and there were
only about 50 colored chaplains in the entire
A. E. F.; as a result, all who would were invited
to help in this all-important work of the Y. M. C. A.
Many of the soldiers were always willing and
anxious to assist in every possible way, while some
of the Y women gave much time to this phase of

228

GROUP OF RELIGIOUS WORKERS

1. Chaplain R. A. McAllister and Orderly at Camp Pontanezen, Brest.

2. Chaplain M. M. Jefferson, at Camp Lusitania, St. Nazaire. 3. Secre-
tary B. F. Selden and Chaplain George Shippen Stark, on Vosges

Front. 4. Chaplains Wallace and Robeson with 369th Infantry.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

welfare work; the writer, with the assistance of
interested soldiers, organized a Bible class in a hut
where there hitherto had been only one religious
service a week, attended by from 60 to 100 men
out of a camp of 3,500. The Bible class grew and
gathered strength until a colored chaplain was
finally stationed at Camp Lusitania, which by that
time had grown to a camp of 9,000.

Some hut secretaries were especially fitted for
religious work, and filled the place of a religious
worker in a splendid manner. Such a man was
Mr. William Stevenson, who initiated and built
the work at Camp Montoir. Rev. T. A. Griffith,
hut secretary at Camp Guthrie, near St. Nazaire,
was another such messenger of the gospel, and dur-
ing three months of service had 300 ^accessions to
the church; the names of all such men were en-
rolled on special blanks supplied by the Y. M.
C. A., and sent to the churches at home of which
they desired to become members. Of course this
was work such as was to be expected of any min-
ister, but nevertheless there were some who did not
avail themselves of the opportunity. Another such
Y. M. C. A. secretary was Mr. E. T. Banks, of
Dayton, Ohio. Hundreds would go into battle
after having followed him in silent prayer, with
knees bent and faces lifted toward heaven, in the
land where now "The poppies blow, between the
crosses, row on row," and where many of them at
this moment "Rest sweet and deep, in Flanders
Fields."

229

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

In addition to the work done through the Y. M.
C. A. religious workers and chaplains, thousands
of pieces of religious literature were distributed,
including pocket editions of the New Testament,
Psalms, and Gospels. These were placed in litera-
ture cases so that the men could select those which
interested them most, and always the New Testa-
ment or small extracts from the Bible would have
the largest circulation.

To those of us who went over to cast our lots
with the boys in khaki, nothing was quite so inspir-
ing and so helpful as to hear them tell of their faith
in God, or to give utterance to a prayer that bespoke
the upward groping of a soul, or to hear a thousand
voices, deep and rich and rhythmic, bring heaven
into a sacred and almost visible nearness, with sing-
ing that seemed nothing less than a special bene-
diction to a peculiar people. This was a priceless
gift, in a country where all the people spoke a dif-
ferent tongue, and where the great organs in the
cathedrals welled forth the only language that
brought forth a gospel message to a stranger in a
strange land.

In the midst of oppression, circumscription, in-
trigue, and false and wicked propaganda spread
against them by their own countrymen, these col-
ored soldiers fought as bravely as any Americans
overseas, and worked with a greater will; and as
you saw them going to and from their long hours
of labor with a song upon their lips, you became
convinced that these men had unconquerable souls;
and the tramp, tramp, tramp of their marching

230

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

feet made you feel that surely they were walking
side by side with the Master, who had said unto
them: Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world.

231

They are embosomed in the sod,

In still and tranquil leisure,

Their lives, they've cast, like trifles down

To serve their country's pleasure.

Nor bugle call, nor mother's voice,
Nor moody mob's unreason,
Shall break their solace and repose,
Through swiftly changing season.

graves of men who lived and died
Afar from life's high pleasures,
Fold them in tenderly and warm
With manifold fond measures.

GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON.

232

Reburying the Dead

CPRINGTIME had come again, but so different
k./ from the spring of that other year. Then the
voices of spring had been deadened by the thunder-
ous guns around Verdun, Soissons, and Chateau
Thierry. Then those guns with their deep and
ominous challenge were holding the whole world
in tense and fearful waiting. Women of every
land were listening with tender yearning and burn-
ing anxiety for a word from their heroes on the
fields of France. Men of mature years who had
been a part of the conflicts of other days could
scarce conceal their eagerness for the fray as they
gently encouraged those anguished women and
commended their wonderful spirit of endurance
and patriotism. It was springtime, but the Crown
Prince still hammered on Verdun, the Hindenburg
line was still unbroken and the foe was not yet
hurled back from the Marne in sure defeat. It was
the springtime when late, but with grim determina-
tion to win or die, the American Forces had at last
taken their place in the World Conflict.

But all that was now a part of the past and
springtime had come once again in France. Mean-
time a spirit of change had crept over all the land.
After one tremendous shout for victory the world
had fallen into the silence that follows a supreme
struggle the silence of exhaustion, the silence of
death. Many of the thousands who had pressed

233

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

forward in those terrific battles crying "Victory!"
had fallen and lain together under the bleak, dark
winter skies of France. It was a period, too, of
reckoning and realization of the price paid. But
springtime had come again in France with its
song-birds and blood-red poppies, and with it the
quick consciousness that the dead lying en-masse
on the battlefields must be given resting places be-
fitting heroes.

Here was a tremendous task for the surviving
American soldiers, but far more sacred than tre-
mendous. Whose would be the hands to gather as
best they could and place beneath the white crosses
of honor the remains of those who had sanctified
their spirits through the gift of their lifeblood? It
would be a gruesome, repulsive and unhealthful
task, requiring weeks of incessant toil during the
long heavy days of summer. It also meant isola-
tion, for these cemeteries for the American dead
would be erected on or near the battlefields where
the men had fallen. But it would be a wonderful
privilege the beauty and glory of which would
reveal itself more and more as the facts of the war
should become crystallized into history.

Strange that the value of such a task did not
gather full significance in the minds of all Amer-
ican soldiers. Strange that when other hands re-
fused it, swarthy hands received it! Yet, perhaps,
not so strange, for Providence hath its own way,
and in those American cemeteries in France we
have strong and indisputable evidence of the won-
derful devotion and loyalty and the matchless

234

1. Burial at Sea. 2. Writer's Tent at Romagne Cemetery. 3. Among
the Ruins of Dunn-sur-Meuse. 4. Belleau Woods.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

patience and endurance of the colored soldier.
The placing of this task the most sacred of the
whole war in his hands may have been providen-
tially planned. It may have been just another
means, as against the force of arms, to hasten here
at home the recognition and enforcement of those
fundamental principles that for four long years
had held the world in deadly struggle.

We looked upon these soldiers of ours the
splendid 813th, 815th and 816th Pioneer Regi-
ments and the numerous fine labor battalions as
they constructed the cemeteries at Romagne, Beau-
mont, Thiencourt, Belleau Woods, Fere-en-Tar-
denois and Soissons. We watched them as they
toiled day and night, week after week, through
drenching rain and parching heat. And yet these
physical ills were as naught compared with the
trials of discriminations and injustices that seared
their souls like hot iron, inflicted as they were at
a time when these soldiers were rendering the
American army and nation a sacred service.
Always in those days there was fear of mutiny or
rumors of mutiny. We felt most of the time that
we were living close to the edge of a smoldering
crater. At Belleau Woods the soldiers en-masse
banished some who mistreated them. We recall an
incident at Romagne. Even though it was May the
nights were winter cold, so that when one snuggled
between army blankets in the tent, it required a
bit of heroism to crawl out. This particular night
we had just retired when shots were heard, fired in
rapid succession. Without thought of the cold we

235

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

began dressing and were sitting wrapped in cloak
thinking rapidly about what was happening
when someone called, "It is only a fire!" What a
relief it was! What did it matter if the whole
camp burned in comparison with our boys being
goaded by prejudice beyond reason! Rations were
often scarce and poor at Romagne because we were
so far from supplies, hence we prepared and served
food for the soldiers all day long. But this was
but a small task compared with that of keeping the
men in good spirits and reminding them again and
again of the glory of the work they had in hand.
Always, whether in the little corner set aside in
the Y barracks as our reception room, or among
the books they liked so well to read, whether by
the side of the piano or over the canteen, we were
trying to love them as a mother or a dear one
would into a fuller knowledge and appreciation of
themselves, their task and the value of forbearance.

We had gone from Romagne women of fine
spirit had taken our place and were lovingly min-
istering to the needs of these soldiers, when things
happened too grievous to be calmly borne. At
one stroke down came tents of discrimination and
injustice, but the work there went on and the sol-
diers completed the difficult task assigned them.

For weeks at Romagne we watched these
men fare forth with the dawn to find the dead
on the 480 square miles of battlefield of the Meuse-
Argonne. At eventide we would see them return
and reverently remove the boxes from the long lines
of trucks and place them on the hillside beside the

236

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

waiting trenches that other soldiers had been dig-
ging all the long busy day. Far into the night we
would sit in our darkened tent looking out on the
electric-lighted cemetery, watching the men as
they lowered the boxes into the trenches. Some-
times we could hear only a low murmur of voices,
and sometimes again there would come to us a
plaintive melody in keeping with the night hour
and its peculiar task.

Mr. William G. Shepherd, in the New York
Evening Post, gives the following picture:

"As we moved about the battlefield later, we saw in
fields, in groves, on hillsides, and even in the yards of
what had been the houses of French villages, groups of
Negro soldiers at their worthy but infinitely slow task
of calling the roll of our American dead and gathering
them together at the hillside rendezvous of Romagne.

"One of the burning pictures of all this war to me
was a view of these Negro sexton-soldiers working on
a hilltop one rainy evening at dusk. They were outlined
against the gloomy sky. Their huge motor-truck stood
near by, ready to carry their burden to Romagne. I
thought of the home back in the United States where this
one doughboy's empty chair held its sacred place; of
how the 'home fires,' of which our doughboys had so
often sung, had been kept burning for him. I thought
of how the heart-love in that home would flash across
the Atlantic to this bleak French hilltop faster than any
wireless message if the homefolk only knew.

"It was good to know that he was being taken from
his solitary bed, in the midst of the battlefield's desola-
tion, back to the crowd of his buddies at Romagne. This,
that I saw on the sky-line, was his second mobilization.
Not this time will he sing and romp and play and joke

237

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and fight; after his second mobilization at Romagne he
will just lie still and rest with all the other thousands of
his fellow soldiers, his job well done, until it is time
for us he saved to take him back home."

We have yet another picture. It was the day
before the 30th of May, 1919. Every soldier was
helping to put the Romagne cemetery in readiness
for its dedication by General Pershing on the next
day. Looking out from our little kitchen window
of the Y barrack, we saw what seemed to us a
wonderful sight. Two long lines of soldiers were
before us one moving slowly over the hill and
the other coming up the main road each man bear-
ing on his shoulder a single white cross that would
rest above the grave of a fellow-hero. Quickly
our mind traveled back over the centuries to Him
who had borne the cross toward Golgotha, and we
saw in these dark-skinned sons of America bearing
those white crosses, something of the same humility
and something of the same sorrow that character-
ized the Master, but we also beheld in them the
Christ spirit grown large, beautiful and eternal
with the ages. Behind the vivid picture drawn by
Mr. Shepherd and behind this other picture, one
sees not only the twenty-two thousand homes rep-
resented by these crosses at Romagne, but the ten
thousand real Americans, colored men of the Pion-
eer Infantries and labor battalions, who, through
the sweat of toil, linked that place of sainted pil-
grimage on the Western Front with those American
homes.

238

1. Military Cemetery at Romagne.
2. Bearing the Cross.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Our outstanding impression of those faithful
ones who wore the insignia of Alsace-Lorraine is
their strict allegiance to the trust imposed upon
them, with heart and purpose fixed to pay the price
entailed in the completion of their severe task.

Whether they sought their comrades by the
winding Meuse or on the battle-seamed heights of
"No Man's Land;" whether they found their
bodies in the shadows of the ruined cathedrals of
Rheims, Soissons or Ypres, always they were mak-
ing an unconscious challenge to the very heart of
the United States for the rights of the twelve mil-
lions of its citizens whose loyalty had thus endured
the test.

May we not hope that as the heart of this home-
land finds its way to those American shrines in
France, a real peace, born of knowledge and grati-
tude, shall descend upon us, blotting out hate and
its train of social and civil injustices? Then shall
we realize the value and meaning of the pain and
sacrifice of these dark-browned heroes of ours.

16 239

What are the things that make life bright?

A star gleam in the night.

What hearts us for the coming fray?

The dawn tints of the day.

What helps to speed the weary mile?

A brother's friendly smile.

What turns to gold the evening gray?

A flower beside the way.

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.

240

Stray Days

THERE were days of travel from one post of
duty to another, and days of recreation that
took us away from the camp for a little but seldom
away from the soldiers themselves. Army restric-
tions were as numerous and as intricate as the
barbed wire entanglement of the front. But in
spite of limitations, and in some instances because
of them, we had many novel and interesting experi-
ences in what we called Stray Days.

Waiting, as simple as it seems, could sometimes
be one of the most trying ordeals of a soldier's
life. This was true of those who reached France in
the heat of the conflict to become in some small way
a part of it. Arriving in Paris and finding it sorely
pressed by the foe, one immediately became a part
of the anxious throng within its gates, with scant
desire for sight-seeing or visits to places of inter-
est during those tense days. This was especially
true if one had known that city when it was all
life and light, before the pall of suffering and
dread had fallen over it.

Now one preferred to sit in the Garden of the
Tuilleries, if the bomb and shell of the enemy per-
mitted it. Looking out upon the huge dark form
of the Louvre or letting the eyes wander past the
remains of the palace to the Place de la Concorde,
it would be most natural that the thoughts or con-
versation would turn to the long struggle of France
for the attainment of an ideal democracy. Usually

241

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

the conversation would be with a wounded soldier
or sad old civilian of the French who would add
much to our knowledge of his people and their
history. Or, in those same oppressive days, we
would ride past the palatial residences with their
fast-closed windows, on the Champs Elysees, out to
the Bois de Bologne. Sitting there with face toward
Napoleon's Arc de Triomphe, one would come to
understand that kingdoms and principalities,
builded by selfishness and tyranny, survive but a
day. Through the gruesome crucible of the Bastille
and guillotine, France had won the democracy that
she was now battling to preserve. The grim insist-
ence of this determination could be seen in the
wounded men that were ever near us.

But when the French had finally won, life and
light once again filled Paris, and with it the urge
and joy of long days of sight-seeing for the Amer-
icans. Soldiers "on three days' leave" wanted to
see luxurious Versailles whatever else was omitted.
Others preferred Fontainebleau with its stately
palace, or St. Denis with its hundreds of royal
tombs. All wanted to go to the tombs of Lafayette
and Napoleon. One would find the Chapel of the
Invalides crowded with soldiers looking down upon
the great sarcophagus of the Emperor, while a
Y man related the history. Now and then as we
listened, we felt that the shade of the great warrior
might be protesting all unseen against some of
these original interpretations of his life.

Aside from the best-known places of interest, one
liked to go out to Pere la Chaise with a group of

242

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

men and show them its wonderful beauty, even
though a cemetery show them the graves of great
scholars and artists of France, even those of its
great lovers like Heloise and Abelard. Often the
day would be closed with a restful ride on the
Seine, where, somehow, one came into more inti-
mate touch with historical Paris and a keener
understanding of it than from any other point. The
long dark form of the Louvre; the beautiful Notre
Dame with the nearby Hotel de Ville, and the gold-
domed Hotel des Invalides are among the domi-
nating views of the famous little Seine, and in them
is summed up much of the death and resurrection
of a nation. But outside of Paris the footsteps of
the world seemed to turn toward Rheims. Rheims
with its far-famed cathedral, all war-despoiled,
became a place of pilgrimage not only for the de-
voted French, but for the thousands of foreigners
on their soil. Towering above the ruined city, the
cathedral, so rich in artistic value and historical
associations, stands all shattered and torn. Thirty
years to restore, they told us there! Somehow as
we looked upon it, standing proudly erect in spite
of its ghastly wounds and piles of wreckage heaped
high about, it seemed strongly emblematic of its
wonderful people, who even then had begun the
herculean task of restoring their villages and towns.
Aside from walking through the ruins to reach
the cathedral and our ride to the fort and battle-
field with its never-ending trenches, we have two
distinct memories of our visit to Rheims. First, it

243

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

was a wonderful way to celebrate the birthday of
one of us; and second, a secret service man, posing
as a Frenchman, completely won our confidence.
Once before in Paris when one of our number had
a dinner in honor of the Liberian delegates to the
Peace Conference, we found close at our side an
American in faultless evening dress. He quite
amused us by the way he pretended to be engrossed
in his dinner and book, while he really gave him-
self to listening. A little diplomacy, and his call-
ing was discovered. But at Rheims it was all
different. Sprawled on a bench in real French
attire with wine bottle in hand, this man spoke
perfect French. It was the hottest day we had
ever experienced in France, so he opened the con-
versation with questions about the weather in dif-
ferent sections of the United States, thus locating
us. Then came other questions about colored
people, their relations and feelings to their coun-
try. After a while our little party went to purchase
postcards, and when we returned our erstwhile
Frenchman had become an unmistakable American.
He laughingly revealed his identity. Now, per-
haps it was the environment, but, at any rate, we
had all stood the test that day of being rather good
Americans; even the "buck" private who accom-
panied us seemed to have forgotten the many griev-
ances of his kind and spoke with a kind of glow
upon his face of his home in Baltimore. Our
secret service man was well pleased with our
Americanism, but we felt rather chagrined that we
had missed so splendid an opportunity to share with

244

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

him certain truths about colored folk at home that
he probably had not learned.

Seeing Rheims, one also wished to see the city
so close by and so closely linked to it for all the
war. But we had seen Chateau Thierry first. One
Saturday afternoon the two writers were started
from Verdun with "movement orders" for Paris.
But the spirit of adventure was very strong in them.
They were in a region that within a year had
changed the map of the world and added miracu-
lous pages to history. They were in a sector where
their own men, side by side with the French, had
fought bravely to victory, so that to see it only from
the fast moving train was hardly possible. At
Chalons they descended, and so full of their adven-
ture were they that the difficulty of securing suit-
able lodgings in that city, overcrowded with Amer-
ican officers and soldiers, did not disturb them.
Two Frenchmen carrying their baggage, content-
edly jogged along with them, now and then offering
a suggestion. The old cathedral, one of the finest
in France, and the old buildings of the city were
well worth the time spent in hunting a place to
sleep. Next morning they hurried over to the
ruined city of Chateau Thierry with its little Marne
that had twice held the world in breathless anxiety.
How glad they were to join there two other Y
women and a Y man who were also out for a day
of recreation! Already they had found the head-
quarters' company of the "813th," and the colonel
of that regiment granted the use of two camions
or wagonettes in which they all raced to Belleau

245

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Woods. There Messrs. Kindal and Parks, with Miss
Thomas and Mrs. Williamson were faithfully serv-
ing those companies of the "813th" that were
building the cemetery there and of whom we have
spoken. There, too, we found Dr. Wilberforce
Williams helping the regular staff. Never was a
dinner served in the properly appointed way eaten
more joyously than the one to which those ten
secretaries sat down that Sunday in Belleau Woods.
It had been gathered from devious sources by the
soldiers of the regiment and brought to the Y
hut, so that the courses would not have pleased an
epicurean taste. However, there were few frag-
ments left from that meal.

We have told about the soldiers at Chateau
Thierry and Fere-en-Tardenois, but we have not
told about our race from one place to the other,
about thirty miles, with stops here and there to
find our way, pick up hats and caps blown away,
and to repair the camions.

That night we slept at Epernay and that is still
another story. There, too, we found the city
crowded by Americans. We thought we would sit
in the depot all night, but the sleeping crowd and
steamy atmosphere drove us forth into the clean
night air. We were just endeavoring to drive a
bargain with the owner of a voiture for its use as
a sleeping carriage, when a tiny French lady in
voluminous black bombazine swept us away to
her small apartment with its big feather bed. The
next day, having satisfied for the time our desire

246

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

for sight-seeing, we most demurely handed in
"movement orders" at the Paris office.

During the war Epernay, like Bar-le-Duc and
Chalons, was always just on the rim of that gulf
of fire and smoke that swept Eastern France. For
the most part these cities escaped with only an
ugly scar here and there. Verdun saved them, for
could the Crown. Prince but have realized his
dream, they, too, would have been as Soissons,
Rheims and Chateau Thierry, mere heaps of ruins.

There were other trips over battlefields and
through their tunnels that most of those who went
to France had the privilege of making. But it was
away from the beaten paths of travelers, and espe-
cially along the west coast of France, that these
Stray Days afforded us the greatest pleasure. At
St. Nazaire there were days when we would leave
the noise of the camp and wander down long shady
roads, by high stone walls that hid from view beau-
tiful cottages and gardens, down steep inclines to
the sea, stepping from boulder to boulder till we
would be far out. Then we would rest with the
breeze full of the salt of the sea blowing about us.
Sometimes we would talk of home and loved ones
over there in the west, sometimes of our work, but
oftener we would be silent. Looking up we might
see a khaki-clad form high above that would come
down to us at a frightfully rapid pace. There
were lovely moonlight nights when we would stand
by the sea-wall on the ocean boulevard and watch
the transports that so often filled the harbor, rest-
ing on the glistening waves. But there were other

247

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

nights when, clad in storm raiment, we enjoyed
equally as well seeing the great waves dash over
the wall and across the boulevard in turbulent
anger.

Now and then there would be a whole day in
which we could leave the camp entirely. Then we
could go to one of the many little seaside resorts
about us Pornichet, for instance, with its great
stretch of white beach, quaint and quiet inns and
tempting sea food. There one would go to sleep
with the roar of the waves in the ears and the salt
of the sea filling the atmosphere.

Now and then there would be need of supplies
for our hut that the local magasins or shops could
not supply, and it would afford a chance for a shop-
ping expedition to the quaint and historical old
city, of Nantes. Once there we would spend most
of the day in the crowded but wonderfully attrac-
tive shops. Then we would seek for a voiture with
a versatile and talkative owner who would show
us the points of interest in the old town that had
known so much of persecution and despotism. The
river Loire, now filled with supplies for the army,
was once filled with barges in which hundreds of
human souls were drowned. Nantes was one of the
important war bases, and was always crowded by
Americans.

Another outing took us to Vannes on the Brittany
coast, one of the oldest towns of France. In Celtic
times it was the capital of Venetis and it takes the
honor of giving Venice its name as well as coloniz-
ing the Adriatic. Because its inhabitants resisted

248

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Caesar with so much vigor he said of them "they
have bodies of iron and hearts of steel." Looking
at the every-day life of those inhabitants of the
Brittany coast, one feels that time has brought few
changes in conditions and customs. The men driv-
ing their cows and sheep on market day, the women
and children riding in the carts or walking about
the towns, all in the native costume of their class,
close the door on the present and, for a time, make
one a part of the past. Its old stone gateways and
courts, its old squares and old passages and more
than all else, its old men and women with their
clattering wooden shoes, reveal how little the outer
world has penetrated to that ancient spot.

A half day only left for Vannes, and Carnac
with its Druid Stones almost thirty kilometres away!
How was it to be done? We could not miss seeing
such a wonder. There was but one way, and well
for us that we did not know then all the army regu-
lations or we would have missed this place now
engraven in our memory. But we did not know,
so we did the one thing possible, hired an auto-
mobile with chauffeur both French and sped to
Carnac. It is neither beautiful nor ugly, but it is
wonderful to see hundreds of gray stones rising
skyward out of the heather-covered fields. So
regular the rows, so silent the surroundings that
one can almost believe the legend that makes them
an army turned to stone. There is much of tradi-
tion and history in all of this part of Brittany.

Finnistere offered many advantages for outings
with the great military port of Brest as the starting

249

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

point. To be in Brest in winter was to feel the
gloom and penetrating chill of England with
the addition during the war period of mud every-
where earth ground into sinking mire such as
only vast and constant movements of men and
machinery could produce. It was the greatest port
of the war, and men were always there by the
thousands. We climbed high above the city one
winter evening to visit the men at Camp Lincoln.
As we spoke to them that night we saw
their faces out of the shadows made by
the flickering candles. Months later we spoke
again, but in a well-lighted auditorium that
had been built for the men as the result of the
persistent and successful efforts of Secretary
Cansler and his associates. Brest itself is full of
historic interest, beginning with the sombre Chateau
and its dungeons. But all around it are picturesque
spots that lure one away from the town in summer
days. One Saturday four Y women and twelve
soldiers went by automobile north from Brest about
twelve miles and reached the remote village of St.
Mathieu. They were then at the most westerly
point on the Continent, named by the natives "Loc
Mazi pen ar Bed," or the cell of St. Mathieu at the
end of the earth. But the most important thing
there is the ruins of a great monastery constructed
in the sixth century. It was bombarded first by the
English and again during the French Revolution.
On all the Continent we had seen nothing more
picturesque than that great roofless monastery with
its cloisters and pretty Gothic windows. Covered

250

1. Down by the Sea in France. 2. Devastated Rheims. 3. A Light-
house off the Coast of Brittany. 4. The Druid Stones at Carnac. 5.
Chamonix. 6. An old gateway at Verdun. 7. Chateau Thierry. 8. .
Yerdu:;. 9. Ancient Yannes.

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

with moss and ivy, it stood a monument to the
monastic order of its day. Nearby was a light-
house and all about us were mines, for the village
held a strategic position at the entrance to the
English Channel. Beneath the sea-wall was a sub-
marine passage that had had its uses in other wars
as well as in the last one. From there we rode on
to Conquet, a typical little fishing village of the
north coast. We ate dinner in a big old room jut-
ting far out on the sea, where the mist fell about
us like rain.

How in the memory of thousands of doughboys
and welfare workers lingers the picture of Lyons!
With its lovely bridges, parks and boulevards, with
its great Cathedrale de Fourviere perched high
above it, more than any other place it was the
"City Beautiful" for the men who rested there en-
route to southern France. It was with Dijon,
beautiful beyond compare, after the barren of
camp life.

There were days in Southern France where,
in addition to the interesting outings that were
ever a part of the regular program, we made other
journeys. Some of our number traveled to Grenoble
and to beautiful Nice on the Mediterranean, others
went over those picturesque parts that border Spain
and some stood by Lake Geneva and spent a night
at lovely Chamonix under the shadow of Mont
Blanc, marveling at its stupendous beauty. There
were vales and grottoes, lakes and mountains to
which we went, but there was always the soldier

251

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

and one used these Stray Days largely to gather
new strength, new vigor for the important task back
in the Y hut. One might go many miles away from
camp life, but the vision of those thousands of
virile lads with soul and body steeled for the hour
could not be lost and always sent one back to them
with an eager longing to serve better than before.

252

Afterthought

WE verily believe that consistent adherence
to the teachings of the Prince of Peace, is
the rock upon which the colored people of Amer-
ica must build the superstructure of their civiliza-
tion for all their future. It offers the only sure
solution for their many difficulties, although it must
be accompanied by righteous and indignant pro-
test against injustice.

Some were not anxious for the colored soldier
to take a part in the great World War. They felt
that it would be a needless sacrifice for something
that would bring no tangible results by way of
alleviating his present condition; others felt that
if he offered his life upon the altar for the prin-
ciples of a new freedom, the remaining shackles
that have so long bound him would be wholly
broken.

Neither were correct; for while the shackles have
not been wholly removed from his body there have
been wonderful results accomplished that have in
some measure removed the fetters from his soul.

Approximately 150,000 soldiers, officers and
men went to France to represent the colored race in
America. Many of them were brigaded with the
French, while other thousands had a contact and
association with this people which resulted in bring-
ing for the entire number a broader view of life;
they caught the vision of a freedom that gave them
new hope and a new inspiration.

253

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

Some of them received the rudiments of an
education through direct instruction; a thing that
would not have come to them in all the years of a
lifetime at home, while many hundreds had the
opportunity of traveling through the flowering
fields of a country long famed for its love of the
beautiful, and seeing its wonderful monuments,
cathedrals, art galleries, palaces, chateaux, etc.,
that represent the highest attainment in the world of
architecture and art. They looked upon the relics
left by a people long gone, and saw the picturesque-
ness of a great and wonderful country, as they took
their way from the port cities to the front line
trenches, or to the towering Alps, or through the
farms and villages of a quaint and thrifty people.
And while they traveled they learned that there
is a fair-skinned people in the world who believe
in the equality of races, and who practice what they
believe.

In addition to this they had an opportunity of
making a record for themselves that will be in no
wise hidden from the generations of the future; a
proud record of which the Frenchman took note,
and for which he will give them due credit in the
true history of the Great World War.

They also had an opportunity to give the truth
a hearing before the Court of Justice of the civi-
lized world; the truth with regard to their conduct,
their mental capacity, their God-given talents, and
their ability for the leadership of men and the
accomplishment of results that were a credit to

254

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

themselves and to the nation which they repre-
sented.

All of these things were quite enough to offset
whatever came to them of hardship and sacrifice,
of war and suffering, of mean prejudice and subtle
propaganda, of misrepresentation and glaring in-
justice.

They have a right to have a wonderful hope for
the future. Nothing but the Hand of Providence
could have guided them into a great world mael-
strom and brought them out with such wonderful
and satisfying results. Their future endeavor
should be to a greater extent than ever before along
the line of demonstrating to the world their ability
to follow that Providence more closely and with
a greater faith; to become to the world a living
example that the principles of Christianity can be
applied with greater and increasing success to
every-day life; and to blaze a pathway for them-
selves whose brightness and beauty will make a
plea so eloquent that the ancient doctrine of the
Brotherhood of Man will finally become the chief
cornerstone of our Democracy.

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS

1. A riot between colored troops and the citizens of
Houston resulted in 13 colored soldiers being condemned
to death. As a consequence the Des Moines Officers'
Training School had its term lengthened by one month,
making the necessary time for obtaining a commission,
four months instead of three; believing they were to be

17 255

TWO COLORED WOMEN WITH THE A. E. F.

denied commissions altogether, many of the candidates
went home.

2. See Crisis Magazine, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York
City, Page 19, issue of May, 1919.

3. From official record taken by soldier who was in
Brest at the time.

4. See Crisis, May, 1919, Pages 16 and 17.

5. A term of contempt used in referring to the French
people.

6. From report of supervisor of instruction for colored
soldiers in France.

ABBREVIATIONS.

S. 0. S. Service of Supplies. Referred to men en-
gaged in getting supplies of food and ammunition to the
troops.

A. P. 0. Army Post Office. The post offices were
known by numbers so that names of towns giving loca-
tion of troops would not be placed on paper.

A. E. F. American Expeditionary Force or Forces.
Both terms were used, and referred to troops, welfare
workers, etc., serving overseas.

G. 0. General Orders. Orders issued from general
army headquarters.

Del. Detached.

M. P. Military Police.

F. A. Field Artillery.

C. 0. Commanding Officer.

t). I. Divisional Infantry. I. D. Infantry Division.
R. I. U. S. Reserved Infantry United States.

256

INDEX

A. and M. College, Tallahassee,

Fla 205

A. and T. College, Greensboro,

N. C 205

Aix-les-Bains 20, 159, 162, 164

Alexander, Capt 84

Allen, Capt 84

Allied Women, Conference of.. 219

Alston, Elaine, Lieut 84

American Library Association.. 213
Andrews, William, Lieut . .Opp. 84

Anderson, William 179

Antioch Farm 80,83

Argonne Forest 25,90,109

Armistead, J. Emmett, Sgt.

Maj 127

Armstrong, Sgt 106

Army Candidate School 212

Artillery

Officers of 149

Regiments, 167th 62,63,212

Atlanta University 145

Bailey, Sgt. Maj 221

Bailey, Wm., Band Leader. Opp. 222

Ballou, Maj. Gen. 45

Bands

Europe's Band 219

Saint Nazaire Band... .Of p. 222

802 P. I. Reg. Band... .Opp. 222

803 P. I. Reg. Band... .Opp. 222
805 P. I. Reg. Band... .Opp. 223
808 P. I. Reg. Band... .Opp. 223

815 P. I. Reg. Band...

.Opp. 218

Banks, Sgt 106

Banks, E. T Opp. 25, 26, 229

Barnett, Leonard, Sgt.,

116, Opp. 210, 211

Bayles, Sgt Opp. 122

Beall, Jeremiah, Lieut.-Col 115

Belgian Border 83

Belleau Woods 153,246

Beaune, University of . .205, 206, 210

Black Madonna 178

Black Regiment 75

Blackwell, Sgt Opp. 128

Blodelsheim 73

"Blues" 217

Blue, Sgt 106

Bois de Mortier 80,81,82

Bois d'Oiry 81

Boker, George Henry 75

Bordeaux 15,97,100,137

Camp Ancona 208

Bordeaux, University of... 211, 212
Boutte, Matthew, Capt.

57, 58, 59, 60, 61, Opp. 58
Brest

20, 97, 98, 99, 100, 138, 155, 182,

209, 214, 219, 221, 223, 250.

Camp Lincoln 35,219,250

Camp Pontanezen,

22, 35, 38, 52, 128, 155, 192, 214
Brewington, Everett, Sgt.,

130, Opp. 210, 211

Brown, N. Fairfax, Phr.D...152, 154
Browning, Osceola A., Lieut. .83, 84

Bruce, Miss 152

Bullock, Mr.,

23, 25, Opp. 26,169,179

Burwell, Sgt 125

Camps, American

Des Moines 44

Funston 112,116

Jackson ..'. 88

Sherman 116

Stuart 90

Taylor 128

Camps, French

Ancona, See Bbrdeaux

Guthrie, See St. Nazaire

Lincoln, See Brest

Montoir, See St. Nazaire

One, see St. Nazaire

Pontanezen, See Brest

Romagne ..131,153,218,214,221

Carlisle Indian School 232

Carnac 249

Carr, Sgt Opp. 122

Cemeteries

Beaumont 235

Belleau Woods 235

Fere-en-Tardenois 235

Soissons 235

Thiencourt 235

Romagne 235

Challes-les-Eaux . .152, 162, 167, 214

Chambery 152,162,166

Champagne Offensive 26,89,90

Chantmd Farm 82

Chapman, Sgt Opp. 128

Chateau Chehery 223

Chateau Thierry 108,153,245

Chaumont 152,154,162

Cheatham, Lieut 85

Cherry, D. K., Capt. .Opp. 206, 211

Childs, Mrs 152,154

Chisholm, Frank L., Lieut... Opp. 58
Citations

Murphy, Lieut 80

Red Hand Division 72

White, Maj 4

369 Reg. Inf. 73

371 Reg. Inf 89

372 Reg. Inf 91

802 P. 1 127

805 P. 1 113, 114

807 P. 1 120

Clark, Sgt 106

Clark University 145

Clayton, Thomas 205,208

Clifford, Mrs. Carrie W 134

Clifford, J. Williams, Lieut. Opp. 58
Clifford, Maurice, Sgt.-Maj.... 123

Cockett, Dr 19

Coffin, Henry S., Dr 13

Coleman, Sgt Opp. 122

Colored "Y" Huts, List of 35

Cook, H. 25, Opp. 26

INDEX Continued

Cooper, Opal 219

Coverdale, Sgt.-Maj Opp. 128

Craigwell, Mrs Opp. 26, 1 52

Crawford, Capt 84

Crawford, Miss 19

Croix de Guerre,

51, 54, 62, 71, 74, 80, 81, 83, 84,

93, 196.

Croom, J. C Opp. 28, 33

Crutcher, W. H 205, Opp. 206

Curtis, Mrs. James L.,

136, 152, 153,154,161,162

Dabney, Lieut 54

Daly, Victor R., Lieut Opp. 58

Davidson, Lieut 54

Davidson, Cornelius 123

Dead Man's Hill 90

Dean, Milton, Maj 62

Dickinson, Jay 124

Discrimination,

In America 42

Knights of Columbus 31

Official,

23, 29, 30, 43, 46, 55, 57, 59, 102,

185, 186, 188, 189.

Propaganda 103,125,185

Y. M. C. A 26, 27, 28, 138

Y. W. C. A 32

Distinguished Service Cross,

83, 84, 196
Divisions

MM.

45, 48, 52, 61, 86, 112, 188, 211,
212.

93d 196

Dogan, Sgt 106

Donaldson, U. S. Sgt.-Maj.,

128, Opp. 210, 211

Douglass, Dr. H. Paul 209

Drye, Frank L., Lieut Opp. 58

Du Bois, W. E. B 136

Dunbar, Paul Lawrence. 95, 110, 240

Duncan, Lieut.-Col 80, 83, 84

Dunn, Henry, Sgt 106,179

Edwards, Miss Opp. 26, 152, 154

Eggleston, Sgt.-Maj 128

Ellis, Wadley, Sgt Opp. 92

Engineers 108

37th 109

505th 108

546th 108,109

Epernay 246, 247

Europe, James Reese. 69, 74, 218, 220

Evans, Miss 152,154

Farmer's Institute 209

Farrell, Sgt 106

Ferguson, Rev. D. Leroy.33, 139,203

Ferine la Riviere 80

Fields, Milton F. Opp. 210, 212

Filmore, Chas. W., Capt.,

69, Opp. 70, 74

Fisk University 58

Frederick Douglass Home 153

Freeman, Sgt Opp. 122

French Hospitality 85, 187, 197

French Troops

9th Army Corps, 4th Army 89
13th French Army Corps.. 88, 90

35th French Division 90

63d French Division 90

68th French Division 88

157th French Division 90

333d French Infantry 89

Garbon, Miss 1 52

German Propaganda 53

Glead, Clarence 212

Godman, Leroy, Capt 48, 61

Gondrecourt 212

Gordon, Lieut 85

Gould, Ernest M., Lieut Opp. 58

Gouraud, Gen 71

Gowdy, Sgt Opp. 128, 129

Grandlup 82

Griffin, Sgt 129

Griffith, Rev. T. A 29,229

Cue, D'Hossus 83

Gwynne, Capt 89

Hagan, Miss Helen. . . .Opp. 26, 153

Hall, Capt. 84

Hampton Institute 145

Hardy, Sgt. Maj Opp. 128

Harris, Miss 20

Harrison 129

Haute Marne 184

Haute Soane 52

Hayward, Wm., Col 69

Hill 304 90

Hill, Leslie Pinckney 216

Hindenburg Line 81

Hodges, Chaplain 203

Holitz 1'Eveque 89

Howard University 112,145

Hubert, Benj. F.,

204, 205, 206, Opp. 206

Humphrey, C. B., Col 113,115

Hunton, Benjamin H.. .54, Opp. 58

Kurd, Lieut 85

Illiteracy 200

Influenza 150

Is-Sur-Tille 208

Jackson, First Lieut 85

Jackson, Second Lieut 85

Jackson, George W.,

205, 207, Opp. 206

James 129

Jamison, Roscoe C 94

Jefferson, Sgt, Saxaphonist,

Opp. 222\
Jefferson, M. M., Chaplain,

203, Opp. 228

Jenkins, L. C., Rev 183

Jenkins, Matthew, Sgt 89

Jeton, Sgt Opp. 128, 129

Jewish Welfare Board 227

Johnson, Charles A 212

Johnson, Georgia Douglass,

8,111,158,232

INDEX Continued

Johnson, Henry Opp. 70, 71

Johnson, James Weldon ....13,107

Johnson, Oscar S 212

Johnson, Warwick 123

Jones, Sgt 106

Kansler, Fritz 250

Kindal, Mr 180,246

King, Henry Churchill 228

Knights of Columbus 22,31,227

La Cortrine 213

Labor Battalions,

97, 98, 99, 149, 155, 235

332d Labor Battalion 105

339th Labor Battalion 105

608th Labor Battalion 105

Lacy, George W., Lieut. .. 69, 74, 84

Laon 85

La Mans 152,154,155

Leave Area,

153, 154, 159, 162, 180, 186

Lee, Lieut 85

Lee, B. F., Jr 36

Legion d'Hqnneur 71

Lincoln University 123

Long, Sgt.-Maj Opp. 122

Lorgny 83

McAllister, R. A., Chap.. .Opp. 228

McCook, Miss Martha 19

McCoomer, Rev 203

McKenzie, Mr 212

Marriott, Sgt.-Maj.,

116, Opp. 210, 212

Marseilles 97, 99, 100, 1 52

Marshall, Napoleon B'., Capt.,

69, Opp. 70, 74

Mead, Mrs. Elsie 19

Mead, Oliver, Band Master. Opp. 28
Medical Officers, 370th Inf.

Antoine, Geo. W., Lieut 83

Bacote, Ruf us, Lieut 83

Ballard, Claudius, Lieut. . .83, 85
Dickinson, Spencer, Capt. ... 83
Lawson, James F., Lieut. ... 83

Lewis, Leonard W., Capt 83

Roe, Lieut 83

Tancil, Lieut 83,84

White, James R., Maj 83,84

Metz 90,99

Mitchell, J. W 212

Mobilization, Rapid 116

Monroe, Charles F., Sgt Opp. 92

Moore, Fred R 135

Moore, Carrie W., Lieut 180

Moran, James L Opp. 210, 212

Moreau, Vice- Admiral 93

Morehouse College 145

Morris, Capt 54

Morton, R. R., Mai 136

Murphy, G. M., Lieut 80

Nantes 191

National Association of Colored

Women 153

National Guard Organization. . 88
Nelson, William. .204, 211, Opp. 206

Nichols, Franklin O.,

Opp. 28, 139, 204, 205, 206

Norvell, Lieut 85

Oberlin College 205

Ohio University 127

Owens, Mr Opp. 26

Pack, Kenneth, Sgt 127

Painter, Lieut 85

Patton, Capt 81,82,84

Paris 16, 17, 241, 242

Parks, Mr 180,246

Pershing, Gen 55, 154, 221

Phelps, Miss Opp. 26, 1 52

Pioneer Infantries 1 55H

Poincare, Pres. and Madam,

219,220

Powell, Electrician 106

Powers, Walter, Sgt.,

116, Opp. 210, 210
Prairie View Normal School... 112

Price, Lieut 85

Price, Walter Opp. 28

Proctor, George F., Lieut. .Opp. 84

Prout, Capt. 84

Regiments

8th Illinois 112

15th New York 96,112,221

301st 205

367th (Buffaloes) N. Y. ...96,52

368th 25,48

369th 25,69

370th, 111.,

96, 77, 78, 79, 83, 85, 86, 212

371st 112,25,88,90

372d 112,88,90,93

801st P. 1 127

802d P. 1 116, 126

803d P. I, 127, 128

804th P. 1 221

805th P. I.,

112,113,114, 115,116,222

806th P. 1 116,130,154

807th P. 1 149,218,219

808th P. 1 123,223

809th P. 1 122,149

811th P. 1 130

813th P. I. . 124, 132, 235, 245, 246

814th P. 1 130

815th P. 1 116,132,221,235

816th P. 1 116,132,221,235

Reid, D. Lincoln, Lieut. .69, 74, 85

Rembercourt-aux-Port 88

Rheims 243

Ridgeway t Susan 20

Rioting 191

Roach, Reese, Sgt Opp. 128

Roberts, Maj 30, 36

Roberts, Needham Opp. 70, 71

Roberts, Spencer, Sgt 149

Roberts, T. A., Col 80, 84

Robeson, Chaplain Opp. 226

Robinson, Lieut 85

Rochon, Miss Opp. 26, 152, 154

Roosevelt, Theodore 40

INDEX Continued

Roosevelt, Mrs. Theodore, Jr.,

19,219,220

Rosenwald, Julius 203

Rousseau, Jean Jacques 166

Sachs, Ella 19

Sadler, Mr 152,162

Saint Nazaire,

70, 98, 100, 184, 191, 209, 214

Camp Guthrie 229

Camp Lusitania,

32, 139, 146, 148, 149, 200, 202,

203, 214.

Camp Montoir . . 139, 149, 207, 229

Camp One (Hut 5),

104, 138, 139, 146,205

Saint Pierremont 83

Saint Sulpice 137

Salvation Army 32, 227

Saunders, Chester, Capt 81, 84

Savoie 160, 163

Scott, Emmett 136

Scroggins, Mr 180

Selden, B. F Opp. 228

S. O. S. (Service of Supplies)

Sector 96, 99, 100

Shaw, Miss 20

Shelton, Lieut 85

Shepherd, Wm. G 237

Sheppard, J. Douglass. Opp. 210, 211

Sherburne, Brig.-Gen 64

Sheridan 129

Shockley, Mr 179

Sierre River 83

Signal Corps Battalion, 325th.. 212

Slade, Mrs. F. Louis 19

Sloane, Wm 12

Smith, Henry 106

Smith, James H., Capt 82,84

Songs

Shovel Song 109

There's a Long, Long Trail.. 218

Spalding, G. R., Col 114

Spingarn, Arthur, Capt 180

Stark, George Shippen, Chap.,

Opp. 228
State College, Orangeburg,

S. C 204

Stevedores 97, 98, 99, 149

Stevenson, Sgt 222

Stevenson, Wm.,

Opp. 16, 34, 139, 168, 169, 179, 224

Stokes, Maj 82

Stokes, Pvt 203

Straight University 58

Suarez, Miss Opp. 26, 152, 155

Talbert, Mary B 153

Tapscott, Sgt 106

Taylor 129

Testimonials

Colored Troops and Workers
from Mayor of Challes-les-
Eaux 173

Funeral Offerings from the
people of Chambery 222

92d Division from Maj. -Gen.

Ballou 68

167th Field Artillery from

Brig.-Gen. Sherburne 68

351st Field Artillery from

Col. Carpenter 65

370th Infantry from French

People 85

370th Infantry from Gen.

Vincendon, 59th D i v .

French Army 86

371st and 372d Inf., from

Col. Quillet 91

371st and 372d Inf., from

Gen. Goybet 92

Thomas, Miss 152,153,246

Tisdell, Lieut 85

Toney, Sgt 127

Turner, Miss Opp. 26, 1 52

Tuskegee Institute. 112, 145, 204, 205

Tyler, Sgt.-Maj., W. W 124

Vannes 185,213,248

Yauxillion 83

Verdun 90, 245

Verriere , .... 89

Virginia Union University,

123, 127, 145

Vodrey, Lieut 218

Vosges Mts 90

Wallace, Chaplain Opp. 228

Wallace, W. S 24,26

Ward, Sgt 106

Ward, Joseph, Maj 62

Warfield, Lieut 85

Warner, CapL 84

Washington, Sgt 129

Watkins, Mr 179

Watkins, Sgt.-Maj 128

Watson, Miss 20,155

Wheelock, James E., Lieut 224

White, Hamilton, Bugler. . .Opp. 222

White Soldiers 150,161,162

Whiting, Joseph L.205, 207, Opp. 206

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler 101

Wilkinson, Charles S 106,212

Williams 129

Williams, Mrs 152

Williams, Sgt.-Maj 124

Williams, Hugo A., Lieut.. .Opp. 84

Williams, Ray, Sgt Opp. 92

Williams, Thomas 212

Williams, Dr. Wilberforce 246

Williamson, Mrs. 152,153,246

Wilson, President 223

Woolcott, Alexander 192

Wright, Charles 106

Wright, John C.,

139, 140, 159, 149, 204, 205, 206,
Opp. 206.

Young, Charles, Col 43,44

Young, Ulysses, Sgt.,

131, Opp. 210,212
Y. M. C. A. Headquarters,

Opp. 16,16.26
Y. W. C. A 227

A 000 131 207